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#personally I enjoyed the new episode for the most part
arty-tardigrade · 9 months
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You write "Love Like You"??? 🤩🤩🤩🤩 AND you're an amazing artist on top of being an amazing writer?? I'm *floored*
I feel like an outsider for not liking the new episode but if you don't mind I'm going to cling to your material as my new canon now going forward
😊👉👈 Hope you stay inspired!! 🌲🧸
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AHHHHHHSFKDSLFJ oh my goodness! thank you so much!
I'm BEYOND HONOURED that my fic is your new canon AHHHHHH! Thank you so much!
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paperclipninja · 11 days
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I'm gonna sound very old person yells at cloud but I don't care, I feel like I need to say this. We all (well most of us) know that messaging Neil with any headcanons/theories/wishes/hopes/dreams to do with the show is a no-go because it could potentially compromise the story he wants to tell or ends up telling. And yes, he is a grown up who chooses what to respond to etc and I think it's wonderful he engages with fans and answers a lot of lovely and interesting questions about his process, writing and journey etc.
However, there is another reason not to send theories and ideas about how the show should go to the show creator in the hope of a response: it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter whether a theory is correct, or a speculation may or may not play out. That is why fandom exists.
Online fandom is where we all come together to yell and cry and throw around weird-ass ideas and theories and look at art and read fanfic and unite in our love of characters and a show. A huge part of being in fandom, is the way fandom theories become like an understood little bit of fanon lore that some people attach to, others disregard. But it doesn't matter. And part of the fun of fandom, is when a new season or a new episode of the show comes out, you have this collective catalogue of ideas and theories and headcanons and you get to yell and scream, "omg it happened1" or "lol that that thing was ever talked about" or "thank god that theory didn't come to pass".
Wanting to know now (not that we ever will) and not wanting to wait until the next season to find out the answers diminishes the fandom experience. I cannot stress enough how much we are in the absolute peak of the fandom experience right now. The between seasons time is the ultimate time to be a part of a fandom (as I'm sure many people are well aware), knowing there's another season coming energises everyone to create and connect and speculate and it's glorious! I know it feels like it'll be like this forever, but it won't. Next season is the last and yes, there will be a flurry and uptick of all the energy and excitement once again, and I absolutely believe Good Omens fandom will live on and remain active and thrumming. But there won't be theories and what ifs and hunting for clues for the next season, and over time it will dwindle a little and plateau and some people will fall into other fandoms, and while it will probably bubble away, there won't be the anticipation that sits with us now.
My point is, fandom is where we get to throw around ideas and flail and be ridiculous and also serious sometimes, but it's all for us. For the fans. Showing Neil theories or getting in a flap about a particular speculation and asking if x, y, or z might happen isn't just about putting the creator in an awkward spot, it takes away what fandom is about. Just let this time be ours. If you haven't been in fandom before, enjoy it! Don't be in a hurry to seek definitive answers or know things either way.
It doesn't matter if any or none or all of the things that float around end up being correct or incorrect. Fandom isn't about being right. It's about being a part of a community and being able to share ideas and it's about it being FUN.
So TL;DR Stop sending Neil fan ideas because that is for fandom, not for the creator.
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grison-in-space · 5 months
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Listening to Artificial Condition again, it strikes me how much Murderbot uses empathy reflexively as a survival skill. Look at this bit.
Upon meeting it, ART allows it on board and then announces that it knows that Murderbot is rogue. Then ART threatens to destroy it if it hacks ART's own systems. Murderbot is immediately terrified and shuts down all inputs, gives serious thought to spending the entire three month journey unconscious, and then considers the potential avenues of damage from ART's drones. ART, not realizing why Murderbot had suddenly gone silent, tells it to quit sulking, which understandably pisses off the still-terrified Murderbot. It dumps a bunch of memories of coercive treatment into ART's feed, and ART goes silent.
Then this happens:
Then it said, I’m sorry I frightened you. Okay, well. If you think I trusted that apology, you don’t know Murderbot. Most likely it was playing a game with me. I said, “I don’t want anything from you. I just want to ride to your next destination.” I’d explained that earlier, before it opened the hatch for me, but it was worth repeating. I felt it withdraw back behind its wall. I waited, and let my circulatory system purge the fear-generated chemicals. More time crawled by, and I started to get bored. Sitting here like this was too much like waiting in a cubicle after I’d been activated, waiting for the new clients to take delivery, for the next boring contract. If it was going to destroy me, at least I could get some media in before that happened. I started the new show again, but I was still too upset to enjoy it, so I stopped it and started rewatching an old episode of Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon. After three episodes, I was calmer and reluctantly beginning to see the transport’s perspective. A SecUnit could cause it a lot of internal damage if it wasn’t careful, and rogue SecUnits were not exactly known for lying low and avoiding trouble. I hadn’t hurt the last transport I had taken a ride on, but it didn’t know that. I didn’t understand why it had let me aboard, if it really didn’t want to hurt me. I wouldn’t have trusted me, if I was a transport. Maybe it was like me, and it had taken an opportunity because it was there, not because it knew what it wanted.
The thing about Murderbot's survival is that it clearly involves quite a bit of negotiating with other constructs and bots. That's how it talks its way onto cargo hauler bots in the first place. It uses empathy--envisioning the emotional and cognitive context of the individuals it encounters--to work out what different kinds of people want, so that it can offer them fair trades. It also uses empathy to consider what humans might be looking for, so it can practice blending in and hide.
Murderbot would never have survived so long if it wasn't capable of assessing the individual desires of the people--human, bot, and construct--around it. It thinks about ART's probable fears and motivations so that it can consider whether ART is inherently an ongoing threat or a potential ally.
When your survival depends on evading detection, you get really good at assessing perceptual biases so that you can shape yourself to fit into them. People talk about murderbot being radically empathetic as a choice it makes, or as a feature of its personality that makes it a good person. But I think murderbot would be the the first person to tell you that this empathy is part of its threat assessment suite, a skill that was developed out of necessity in order to allow you to survive.
It is also a trait that makes murderbot a good person, of course: it chooses very carefully to try to survive by doing as little harm as possible and by offering things, like media, that buy it access to things it needs. But it started as a survival skill. It's part of hypervigilance.
I think one of the strengths of this series is that so many of the things we love about SecUnit are traits developed for survival in an inherently threatening world. The shape of its mind and heart have been changed by the trauma of its origin--but they don't make murderbot less good for being altered, even if that skill was developed in a traumatic context.
I like that.
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grandline-fics · 4 months
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Hi :3 i just watched the new episode and i want to hit that girl she had to touch zoro and sleep wit him 💔
So may I request zoro xs/o about seeing him with the girl maybe some angst and fluff in the end?
DESCRIPTION: After an unplanned separation, you feel insecure about your new relationship
WARNINGS: angst to fluff
CHARACTERS: Zoro
WORDS: 1,852
A/N:  Thank you for this request! I think I rushed the ending a bit but I hope you're happy with it
*REQUESTS ARE OPEN*
MASTERLIST
———————
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Things between you and Zoro were new, incredibly new. There was still a lot you both had to come to grips with, sorting out your feelings and boundaries with each other and still in that moment of not knowing whether what was happening between you both was just lust or if it was going to lead somewhere real. So far you’d both been content to just enjoy the time and moments shared while keeping it all a secret from the crew, deciding it was better to wait before letting them know your personal details. That had been the plan, then it all went wrong in Zou. 
You’d been standing too close to Luffy as you all discussed saving Sanji who was in Big Mom’s territory. Because of that, you were one of the ones he wrapped his arms around and leapt off of the enormous elephant. From there started the longest time you’d both been apart as a couple-albeit a secret one- but you knew Zoro would be just fine in Wano. You just had to do your part and help get Sanji back so the crew could finally be complete again and wasting time thinking about a certain swordsman would only just jeopardise the safety of the crew. 
The entire trip and rescue had been an ordeal you never wanted to go through again. The fractured relationship between Sanji and Luffy had taken its toll- even though much of what Sanji did was to protect everyone- and the battles you had to endure too. You didn’t feel like you could properly breathe any sigh of relief for most of the journey. Yes, you’d all been successful but the loss of Pedro and knowing that as soon as you reached Wano it wouldn’t be long until you were brought straight into another monumental burden of fighting and defeating an Emperor of the sea and his followers. You felt like your head was swimming and stomach was going to be twisted into knots from it all. The only thing that kept you from showing your worries to the others was the thought of seeing Zoro again after weeks of being apart. 
So imagine your shock and hurt of the first seeing him again was seeing him and Sanji interfere during the aftermath of an execution. It wasn’t the fact that he saved a child or that he immediately got into a shouting match with Sanji that got under your skin it was that he didn’t even seem to look for you in the crowd where you stood with the others. Then as fast as you saw him, he was gone again; running to safety with a beautiful woman in his arms. You told yourself you were being ridiculous, that while it seemed like they knew each other Zoro was only acting on instinct to save someone and not because of some other desires fuelling his actions. 
At least that’s what you told yourself at first but as you and the others in the crew ran to escape Kaido’s lackeys you had to listen to Brook gleefully inform a heartbroken Sanji that he had walked in on the sight of this same beautiful woman sleeping contently with Zoro. While Sanji screamed loudly at the revelation you internalised all of your hurt until you were safe and alone, finally able to take out your fury and heartbreak on some random tree in the dense forest with your weapon until your body was too exhausted to move let alone care anymore. In the coming days of preparing for the raid on Kaido’s banquet you kept to yourself, doing all you could to focus your mind on the reason for being in Wano. Still you couldn’t help but numbly rationalise Zoro’s actions. 
Of course the weeks apart would give him insight into how he truly felt. Of course he would have realised he could do better than you. Of course you both only got together in the first place because on the ship, you were the alternative to having any needs he had go unmet. You had to face facts, this was just a fling for Zoro and nothing more. It just killed you inside to realise that you felt so strongly for him, you wished things had ended before it had gotten this far for you. The only thing you were glad of when Zoro finally reappeared was that he had a new sword to hone and train with so he stayed away from you. If there was to be a conversation you wanted it to be after the fight with Kaido, a clouded mind would only lead to mistakes and in this situation it would have been fatal. 
However on the night before the planned fight while the crew had finished their preparations and were beginning to turn in, Zoro walked towards you in the quiet night. He knew you had been keeping your distance from him so he could train and he appreciated that you were so understanding that when he was focused, he needed space. But now there was no more training he could do in the short hours before things would start so he wanted to properly reach out to you. He’d missed you during the time away but to see that you were completely unharmed was a relief. If you’d come back to him with so much as a scratch he would have killed the stupid cook because at the core of the matter it would have been his fault. 
Zoro frowned when you glanced his way and immediately moved to gather your things and find a new place to rest. His hand dropped to your arm but you surprised him when you quickly and sharply twisted from his touch. Then he remembered you two were still a secret. He glanced around the space and smirked to see the coast was clear, but even if the others were still up and about he wouldn’t have cared, not after the time apart. Still if you were still worried about telling the others he’d respect that. “We’re fine. It’s just us.” He spoke lowly to reassure you but it seemed to have the opposite affect when you snapped your head up to glare at him.
“Us?” You repeated coldly, expression melting into one of mock confusion. “There’s an us?”
“Wh-” Zoro was genuinely thrown for a moment and then he became worried that you had been injured in the time away and lost your memories of him. “Of course there is! What happened?” Again he reached out for you but this time your hand slapped his fingers with a sharp snap while the fierce glare returned to your eyes.
“Oh nothing’s wrong with me, I just don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea. Last thing I’d want is to get cosy with someone else’s man.” Your tone was scarily even and Zoro still didn’t know what you were talking about. He didn’t even know how to fix whatever it was that was bothering you. Thankfully you clarified by lightly tapping the hilt of Enma that was against his hip with his other swords. “It’s cute she knows the right gifts to give you so early in the romance.”  Despite the sweet words, the venom in your voice was unmistakable and Zoro finally saw the pain dimming your eyes as you regarded his new sword.
“Hiyori?” Zoro asked startled that you’d even think there was anything romantic going on there. She only gave him the sword as an exchange that was it. “There’s nothing between us. Definitely not ‘cosy’ trust me on that.” At that you let out a short, hollow breath of laughter which worried Zoro even more when he was so used to your laugh being filled with warmth and joy. 
“Well the way Brook tells it, the whole situation seemed very cosy…” Slowly you stepped closer to him, finally for the first time in ages and dragged your fingers across his chest while your other hand slid up his arm, drawing your body further into his space. Your head tilted up, purposely letting your nose gently skim against his throat until you could peer up at him with your guarded gaze. “Something like this, if i’m remembering right. You don’t call this cosy?” Zoro was stuck, if he said yes he was screwed, if he said no he was also screwed.
“Don’t worry about it Zoro. We had our fun while it lasted, right?” You forced out in as light a voice as possible. “You should get some rest while you can and I don’t want to waste anymore of your time.” When you moved to pull away you were immediately caught by Zoro’s reflexes. While you were fast, he was faster when he wanted to be. You let out a gasp to be pulled impossibly close against his chest as his arms locked around you, holding your body against his. 
You wanted to fight against the hold that was strong, secure, and -as much as you hated it- comforting. Even now with your heartbroken mind racing, you always felt safe and warm in his arms. You tried to open your mouth to tell him to let go but you couldn’t. Part of you didn’t want to  because the last thing you wanted now was for your voice to be a pitiful, weak tremble but another part knew that even if you managed out the words, he would have listened. So you kept your mouth closed. “I’ve missed you. I wished you hadn’t gone after that cook with the others.” 
Your body tensed at his words, hearing how sincere they were made your knotted worries and spiralling hurt begin to loosen slightly. You didn’t regret helping with Kanji’s rescue but you did also wish you’d gone to Wano with Zoro. “I’m sorry you were made to think the worst. I promise you there wasn’t anything going on with her or anyone. There is no one but you.”  
“Don’t say that.” You whispered, trying not to melt into his embrace. Even with him telling the truth it didn’t stop the fact that your insecurities had surfaced and with them came concerns about everything. “Compared to someone like her I’m-”
“Perfect. Mine. Everything.” Zoro interrupted fiercely before pressing a kiss against your temple. “I’ll say it as many times as it takes to get you to believe it. But first-” You staggered when Zoro let you go and began stomping towards the Sunny. “I’ve got a skeleton to kill for causing you to hurt.” Bewildered by the immediately bloodlust rolling off of his frame you had no choice but to chase after him to stop him from killing another member of the crew while shouting that you believe him. When you finally caught up to him you pulled him into another tight hug with shaking hands. While things were still new between you two and it was clear you both had a lot to work out you now knew that for as long as you wanted him, Zoro would be there. 
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comicaurora · 2 months
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In the latest trope talk you used Odo as part of your examples. I think You've talked about Star Trek: The Next Generation before but not Deep Space Nine and I just had some questions about what you thought about the show.
What did you most/least enjoy about the series?
What did you think of DS9's syndicated episodes compared to contemporary trek's (TNG, VOY) episodic nature?
How do you feel about the Dominion storyline as a whole? Did you feel like it went against Star Trek's utopian future?
Which characters stood out to you the most/had the most engaging development?
What do you think gagh tastes like?
Any other thoughts about the series?
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Oh man, DS9.
I have this very consistent pattern of thinking that the star trek I have most recently watched is the best star trek. When I watched TNG it was the best because of its standout episodes that let Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner show off. Then when I watched Voyager it was the best because Janeway was incredible and 7 of 9's arc was a beautiful iteration on the "inhuman character explores humanity" star trek trope. Then when I got to DS9 I was like "Oh, so this is what actually good Star Trek looks like." I do think I'm actually right this time, though.
I think they really took advantage of how different the core premise of the show was from previous Star Treks. Because the setting was very consistent, the episodic variations on the formula weren't dedicated to seeking out Weird New Shit, but to focusing on the characters and their dynamics with one another. Correspondingly I think the best thing in the show is the character writing and how everyone's arcs are built up. This was something I think they were building towards with the previous series; TNG would occasionally have character-focused episodes, but for the most part everybody on the ship operated like a well-oiled machine, inputting the Weird Thing Of The Week and outputting a solution. Voyager destabilized the formula by yeeting the heroes halfway across the galaxy and well outside the safe confines of federation space, so you got a lot more opportunities for drama caused by limited supplies or existential despair, and a lot more character-driven conundrums without clean or flawless solutions. DS9 is kind of the apotheosis of this shift away from "seek out new life and new civilizations, boldly go etc etc" because instead of our heroes briefly interacting with Bajor and then fucking off into the end credits, they're sitting right on top of a planet undergoing tumultuous social restructuring after the end of a long and horrible military occupation, and they're there for 7 seasons. Because they aren't following an adventure-of-the-week formula, absolutely everything they do has consequences they have to deal with later down the line, and that lends itself very well to longform character arcs.
I liked the Dominion storyline well enough, and I think the existence of an evil space empire to fight doesn't preclude the Federation being a utopia. Utopias are internally perfect systems, not worlds that have absolutely no conflict. I think the part of DS9 that does undercut the utopia is the whole thing with Section 31, but I think that's part of a very intentional move on the writers' part to highlight that Section 31 is not as necessary as they think they are, and that doing all this stuff unethically is a moral concession and a shortcut that demeans the principles of the Federation. That's part of why I like that they serve as a nemesis to Doctor Bashir, who has very personal reasons to despise the idea of taking the easy way out.
Character-wise, I have very predictable favs. Jadzia Dax is fascinating to me, and I love the way they play with her past lives and centuries of experience to create this very layered character packed with plothooks. Also I have very simple tastes, and "woman fills narrative Man Role trope and nobody is weird about it" is an itch I so rarely get scratched despite how not complicated it is. Jadzia gets to be a swashbuckling romantic hero with a tragic starcrossed lover; she gets to be a wise yet cheerful mentor to Captain Sisko; she gets to be a noble warrior honoring debts from a lifetime ago. And I adore how her dynamic with Sisko plays out over the seasons - another completely uncomplicated trope I so rarely get to enjoy, male and female leads who are profoundly ride-or-die for one another and have absolutely no interest in making out. I am still so mad about how Jadzia gets iced, but that doesn't mean I don't like Ezri, and there is something very beautiful about how when she gets Dax'd and her existence becomes an absolute mess of confusion and conflicting memories and she doesn't even know who she is anymore, her single point of stability is Sisko.
That said, Garak is probably my overall fav. The man is an absolute drama hound and since he's not technically main cast it's a rare treat to get him focused on. He is so much fun on a rewatch when you can see exactly when and how he's lying and when he's telling the truth in a way that everyone thinks is lying, and what I think is most interesting about him is how absolutely everybody else on the station has him figured out. There's this "I know he knows I know they know" loop underlying almost every interaction. Everyone knows he's a spy, he knows everyone knows, and they're all just vibing anyway. It's like his entire character is built on telling the truth in a way that sounds like a lie, to the point where it always manages to surprise people when he does something absolutely ruthless. He's been saying he's a bad guy the whole time! People seem to keep forgetting!
Also, fun fact, the very first chunk of DS9 I caught was the back half of the episode "The Wire", and when I was mentioning this to my dad, I was like "yeah I don't remember their names but these two guys seemed extremely married-" and he immediately went "oh, Garak and the doctor?" so that's very telling I think
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zahri-melitor · 17 days
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One of the many tragedies of Jack Drake is that not only was he bad at being a parent, but that he had the perfect person to discuss how hard the experience was for him right there and yet the only conversation they ever have about parenting Tim is conducted at gunpoint.
Because look at Jack Drake. As far as he was concerned, he had everything under control until Janet died and his world fell apart.
Tim was a Good Kid™ as a kid. He was well behaved and polite and not a difficult child and that's obvious from the fact that many of his memories of his parents together are of being taken out in public. Jack and Janet had one kid and they clearly wanted that kid to enjoy the same things they did, so they took him with them to restaurants and museums and art galleries and the opera. And he enjoyed it and enjoyed that time with them.
Jack however clearly saw his role as a father and a husband in the very traditional position as the main provider. It was his job to work and bring in the income that supported their lifestyle (his depressive episode after losing the company and their having to move makes it very clear how much of his self-worth was tied up in that role). He had a son, but his time with Tim was pretty clearly about taking Tim out with him on a Saturday afternoon to watch sport, or play tennis with his friends, or go to the monster trucks, or go fishing: being able to spend a few hours with Tim and show him off to his friends and then return home and someone else took over looking after Tim. And in his mind, he clearly thought he was a good parent! He spent time with his son! His son was a credit who was worth showing off! He could take Tim with him when he and Janet went out for the evening, and Tim could be relied upon to behave. He was winning at being a father!
The part Jack never realised, of course, was that like many men in his position, he'd handed the day to day logistics of raising a kid over to his wife (Janet) and to people he paid to do it for him (Tim's boarding school). He wasn't the disciplinarian parent. He was the 'fun' parent, who got to have the good times with his child.
If Jack was ever actually involved in decisions about discipline and consequences of actions, it was probably at the ultimate stage: the 'wait til your father gets home' sort of threat. The nuclear option. He didn't handle the everyday stuff - he probably never SAW the everyday stuff.
So, Jack thinks he's a great parent. He can brag to his friends about how well behaved HIS child is, unlike those little ruffians you see screaming in public or whose parents can't take them anywhere because they're disruptive.
Then his world falls apart. He's injured and disabled and grieving. He's a single dad. And the kid he's got is suddenly not the child he remembers. Tim frequently acts out, lies, runs away and comes home with bruises and notes from school saying they’re worried something is going on. He also starts dating and possibly trying to have sex ‘too young’ (being caught with Ariana sleeping over and the couch situation, Steph being pregnant even if Tim insisted it wasn't his).
Jack Drake has to suddenly step up to be the main parent of a 14 year old who he's probably never had that dynamic with. He doesn't have the years of experience in how Tim reacts to various forms of boundaries and punishments, because he's never been the one who set them or enforced them. He's probably never sat down and talked to Tim about his feelings in his life. And Tim, I repeat, is fourteen years old, possibly one of the most difficult ages for a kid. Everyone's 14 year olds are suddenly more difficult than usual and pushing boundaries.
On top of that, he's got to learn this all on the fly, in circumstances where he basically has no support. "Help, I'm a new single father to a teenager' isn't really a genre of self help book or parenting group that gets a lot of love - most people who are single parents aren't men, and most people looking for advice on dealing with problems with raising their kids are talking about under-5s, because by the time kids are out of the toddler stage most parents have a reasonable idea of what works and what doesn't, have networks set up, and are usually reaching out for a bit of advice or support about a specific situation, not Dealing With It All.
What Jack really needs is a buddy or two who are also single fathers to teenage boys, who have experience navigating this, maybe who also acquired responsibility for their son in his teen years. Wow. I mean that's a big ask, but funnily enough, there's someone who lives right next door who exactly fits that description...
(The tragedy that Bruce and Jack only ever have the one discussion about parenting Tim, the kid they've been effectively co-parenting since Tim was 13 years old, and that that discussion took place with Jack holding a gun on Bruce).
So of course Jack is terrible at being a parent to Tim. He's inexperienced, he doesn't have any support, he doesn't SEEK support outside of marrying Dana (and Dana clearly while lovely is both ineffective and reluctant to interfere in Jack and Tim's relationship). Now, he fails on very specific axes, in ways that are both understandable and also signs that Jack has a bad handle on his temper.
His go-to threat is sending Tim back to boarding school, because: when Tim was at boarding school, Jack didn't have any discipline issues with Tim! It clearly worked!; Tim doesn't want to go back to boarding school, making it a threat to hold over him; again, Jack's seeing a kid who is sneaking around, lying, running away and he's at his wits end - there's a narrative in the circles he lives in that such kids DO need to be taught to behave and sending them to boarding school is a way to do that.
He runs hot and cold on paying attention to Tim because up until Tim was 14 that was...what he did! And it wasn't such an issue then, as he wasn't a single parent. And when he pays attention, he does tend to be focused (laser focused, in fact), in getting Tim out of No Man's Land, of the dramas at school during Cry of the Huntress when Jack's getting outraged over Tim's bruises and getting into fights, when he's arguing with Ariana's uncle over whether Tim and Ariana's relationship was going too far.
It's just that he never developed the day to day, in between level of parenting and boundary setting and discipline. He's got a temper, and he swings between "it'll be fine, Tim's a smart kid, I trust him" laid back permissiveness, and getting mad and going immediately to the nuclear option: "You are going back to boarding school!" and so on.
He doesn't know how to walk away and calm himself down when he's worked up. He's not particularly good at redirecting his aggression. And he gets easily frustrated, because in his mind everything went smoothly for years...until it was all his responsibility.
And the thing is, there are so many ways Jack could have tried harder to be a good parent, that were available to him. But because of his background and the culture he lived in and the demands of storytelling he never reached out for any of them.
(And Bruce was right there! They knew each other socially! Everyone knew Bruce had worked through having two teenage sons on his own! He could have asked for advice, and he even knew Bruce knew Tim, given Bruce had officially fostered Tim while Jack was in a coma and in hospital. If you were putting together a specific support group you'd kick yourself over how perfect this was)
It's just such a part of the tragedy of Jack Drake.
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sinning-23 · 6 months
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Piercings (Sanji x Reader)
I’ve fallen down the one-piece rabbit hole and most likely have a new hyperfixation I don't care they’re all hot and I will write like my life depends on it. Anyway, ENJOY SOME SANJI 💃🏾✨
Pt.2 out now! (18+)
Warnings: flirting, heavy touching, mentions of needles, kissing omg so scary
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You're leaning against the bathroom sink, trying your damdest to keep a steady hand while you try and slide the needle through the skin of your lip. This wasn’t your first rodeo, considering you have plenty of piercings from your past. Whether it was a manic episode, a silly little impulse decision, or one you'd been wanting for a while, you had them.
Being out on the ocean didn’t really leave you a chance to go and get them done by someone in a shop but you picked up tips and knew what to do for the most part. Besides, if you messed up, you'd just have a little story to tell about it later!
You focused, taking one swift, deep breath before letting the metal into your skin, moving calculated with the jewelry, eyes watching a bit from the shock. This one was a bit easier since you’d had them before and the holes had closed. Observing your face with a smile, satisfied with your work you exit the bathroom.
As far as you knew the only other person with a semi noticeable piercing was Zoro. And even though you two didn’t really bond over it, it was something you had in common. Nami had her ears pierced as well but that was cause you'd offered when she mentioned wanting them. Commotion from the kitchen slows you down and you can’t help but let curiosity get the best of you. It was most likely just Sanji making something for lunch.
“Good morning!” You announce, making your way to the countertop to take a seat.
As predicted, Sanji was focused on his craft, hands moving from different ingredients to one big pot and two smaller pans steaming away behind him. Nami waves and smiles in response as Luffy follows behind her, snatching up an orange before smiling your way.
"Good morning Y/n!" Luffy beams, the kitchen falling in silence once again when the pair leaves.
...does this mf not see you sitting here all pretty?
"Good morning to you too my beautiful, wonderfully glorious, super sexy, absolutely adored y/n" You state, albeit a bit teasing.
He looks up for a moment, not missing the way you had rolled your eyes at the fact that he hadn't bothered to return the acknowledgment to you.
"Good morning chérie." He smiles, always intrigued by your chipper yet, slightly flirtatious attitude.
When you first arrived, it was really just to be an extra set of hands and someone with a rather extensive knowledge of islands. Not to mention pretty damn good with the locals considering you were a people person much like your captain. Anyway, Sanji tried his hand at the compliments and pet names, but you always returned them with quick wit.
In all honesty, it shocked him, and soon you were engaged in a mutual flirtatious game of cat and mouse. Pet names became hushed compliments and whispers in one anothers ear. Brief touches became prolonged and damn could you two hold eye contact. At this point, it was basically an eye-fucking starting contest.
You grin at him, tucking your lower lip between your teeth.
Sanji paused for a moment to examine your face, four shiny dots along your lower lip, two on either side. He swallows hard, trying to shake himself out of his thoughts. What a pretty mouth.
"New piercings?" He questions, turning away from you and back to the stove.
You give a quick, "mhm!" and hop off to hover beside him.
"Shark bites, I mean, we are on the open ocean so why not!" You explain, leaning against the stove for a moment before jumping back with a hiss. Leave it to you to get injured while trying to mess around and chat in a busy kitchen!
It's instantaneous when Saji turns to see if you're injured, his own coming to yours to observe the burn. It wouldn't be the first item he's asked you to not mess around in here while he's working but you were so damn hardheaded, he knew this. But you just couldn't help it!
Unbeknownst to him, being around him and seeing him was the highlight of your day. You'd be lying if you said you hadn't developed feelings for the flirt. But considering he wasn't just flirty with just you, but Nami too, you'd made plenty of excuses and reasons to back off, even toning down your flirting a bit, thinking that you were getting in the way of who he really wanted.
It always killed you on the inside little bit, thinking of how one day maybe Nami would fall victim to his charm like you had. She'd be the one to whisper things to him, the one to press kisses to his face in adoration maybe. It was an odd way to punish yourself and keep your distance, imagining unrequited love but hey, to each their own.
However, unbeknownst to YOU as well, Sanji had developed a old-fashioned crush. How could he not! He loved the teasing, if he was being completely honest. He loved how you stayed just close enough to him to make his heart beat faster. He'd be more than happy to have you closer in all honesty. Pretty face, pretty personality, witty, fierce, bold as hell might he add.
Not to mention shawty got a body on her- Sanji redirects his focus, looking up into those pretty (e/c) eyes.
Taking your hand he pushed it under the icy water from he sink a silence washing over you.
His hands are bigger than yours, littered with scars as he rubs circles over the top of your hand in comfort. You swallow hard, trying to distract yourself from how warm his grasp feels on your wrist. Gentle but warm, contrasting with the harsh water. He's focused, lips and teeth fiddling with a small silver sphere while he turns the water off and grabs the aid kit beside him.
"Sanji." You breathe out, searching his eyes and lips briefly.
"Stick out your tongue....please?" You ask, seeing him swallow hard, ears flushed red., heat spreading to his cheeks. He doesn't follow through with the request.
Using your free hand, you follow the curve of his jaw before using your thumb to slide down his lips. Soft.
"I'll show mine if you show yours." You offer, letting your tongue slide over your lips deceivingly.
He's got this damn irresistible puppy look in his eyes, his lips parking only a bit before he sticks his tongue out, the silver shining in the kitchen light.
You bit your lower lip for a moment, letting your tongue do the same, only for him to find that it was split. He stopped dressing your hand now, the pain greatly dulled with a new distraction.
"Any more surprise body mods I should know about?" Sanji questions, voice dripping with desire.
Keeping your distance was a joke at this point because you'd be damned if you did have your lips on him within the next 10 seconds.
"I could ask you the same. Though, you should take me out before you see what else I have on my body? Don't you think Sanji?" You whisper his name, testing the waters.
It doesn't take much else for him to lean forward, your lips connecting like puzzle pieces. It's a soft pec at first, but soon becomes hungry and consuming, his pierced tongue sliding over your split one. It's hotter in here, his body caging you in, your hands fighting between staying on him, or resting against the countertop for support.
The tobacco on his tongue is addicting, just as much as the way he makes a point to make you feel the small metal sphere. There's only a moment to breathe, but when you do your right back on each other, this time, finding more stability with your arms around his neck, and his hands at your hips, thumbs tracing just above the curve of your ass. And then he feels it.
"Back dermals. Impulse decision but the backshots are nice."You hum, pulling at his lower let gently with your teeth.
He groans, the grip on your hips becoming tighter when he dips his lips down to the skin of your neck, sucking for a moment in debate. Your bodies are pressed flush against each other, his ears red as the color spreads to his cheeks. It's so damn hot in here.
"Backshots huh?"All takes is a whimper from you and he's back to work, the metal from his piercing sliding over your skin.
A look of horror washes over you before you can respond back, and you're pushing against him in a hurry. He opens his mouth to question what's wrong, anxiety seeping into his chest but before he can ever get a chance to overthink, you're already shouting.
"THE STOVE, SANJI! THE STOVE! ITS ON FIRE!"
____________________
LMK IF YOU WANN BE TAGGED IN PT.2
that one gets a little(a lot) spicier and uninterrupted by kitchen chaos and fire hazards
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yamujiburo · 7 months
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POKEMON SERIES RANKED (IMO)
I get this question a lot and haven't made an updated list with Journeys
Original Series (S1-S5)
Sun & Moon (S20-S22)
Chronicles (S0)
Diamond and Pearl (S10-S13)
Advanced (S6-S9)
Journeys (S23-S25)
Black & White (S14-S16)
XY (S17-S19)
Original Series (S1-S5)
OS had that first season charm. Very unpolished, still finding its footing but super enjoyable for those reasons
Probably the strongest series comedy-wise
That GORGEOUS 90s anime style
Main character dynamics were REALLY strong
Ash's personality felt much more like a shitty little 10 year old which was entertaining
Dub writing was also the best hands down
Sun & Moon (S20-S22)
Honestly tied for first with OS for me
REALLY fun ensemble cast! They do a fantastic job giving each character enough time for you to get to know and care about
Excellent modern anime style that perfectly fit the vibe of the season and allowed for some of the best character animation of the show's run
Finally figured out how to write Ash like a 10 year old again (but in a kind/sweet 10 year old way as opposed to OS)
Very different from previous series in terms of the formula they'd follow. Doing a school series instead of another "8 badges to championship" plot felt new and fresh!
This series genuinely made me cry the most (MEMORIES IN THE MIST!!!!! LIKE ARE YOU KIDDING ME)
Chronicles (S0)
Fun concept! It was really nice to see more of the side characters without Ash there. We get to see more of Misty, Tracey, Daisy, Brock, Ritchie, Oak, Delia, Butch, Cassidy, Jessie, James and Meowth!
Stylistically really nice. Just solid drawings all around and it retained the 90s anime style in digital form more successfully than other digitally done series imo
BUTCH AND CASSIDY!!! Team Rocket centric episodes!!! Training Daze!!!!!!!
Idk how possible it would have been (seems like a TON of work) but it made me want one of these in between each season, where we'd follow the characters that Ash had just said goodbye to for the next region.
Diamond and Pearl (S10-S13)
Series I grew up with! Honestly I was kinda a hater as a kid but having watched it back, I love the series
Love that Ash and Dawn were bros. They had a really fun dynamic.
Debatably peak Team Rocket. They had some of the best Team Rocket centric episodes this series.
Contests were really fun and a bit more figured out compared to the Advanced series
Fun, memorable rivals for Ash (Paul and Barry) as well as Dawn (Zoey, Kenny and Jessilina sometimes)
This is unfortunately where I stopped caring about Ash as much. He feels kinda watered down for the next couple series.
Advanced (S6-S9)
Pretty tied up with DP for me
Really fun series! Still had some of that early Pokémon charm
I appreciated that they put Ash in more of a mentor role for May (but he still had a lot to learn himself).
Ash and May constantly butting heads was really fun
May was a very compelling character to me, being very clumsy, kinda lazy, directionless, not really into Pokémon, etc. But then over time, she comes around and finds something she's interested in!
Journeys (S23-S25)
I love the episodic take as well as the way they let the characters jump around from region to region at random
Goh was a GREAT travel companion to Ash. They contrast each other nicely, have moments where they get on each others' nerves but still get along and have a mutual admiration for one another.
It was fun that they made Goh's thing catching every Pokémon (the motto of the entire series) so they could focus on Ash just training and prepping for Worlds.
Amaaaazing style. Took the great parts of classic Pokémon, roundness of SM and blended em together for a really fun look.
Black & White (S14-S16)
I don't think it's that controversial to have BW this low haha
I did enjoy Iris and Cilan but it felt like the writers didn't reaaally know what to do with them? Also this was their first time in a while not having Brock and it shows. I feel like Brock was successful because he was grounded and lower energy compared to the rest of the kids. Having 3 pretty eccentric characters is kind of a lot. No hate to the characters in the slightest, there was just not as much balance.
I think maybe they leaned on Cilan and Iris for more comedic relief because they killed the comedic relief that was Team Rocket this series. I appreciate them trying something new with Jessie, James and Meowth but I don't think it worked very well lol
XY (S17-S19)
I've ranted about this series a lot LOL. I get the appeal of it, but it just wasn't for me. I felt like it was the weakest comedy-wise and took itself a bit too seriously for my taste
My main gripe is that Serena, Clemont and Bonnie all like,,, worship Ash. By doing so, Ash begins to feel like a side character because we're constantly looking at Ash through their eyes. There's so little conflict within the group so their dynamics feel really flat. I think this dynamic could have worked if they leaned waaay more into Ash being a mentor and maybe feeling the pressure of having to be a role model for the people around him.
Team Rocket very much feels like an afterthought in this series. They did in Journeys as well, but at least in Journeys they were doing something silly and also had a handful of episodes dedicated to em.
Outside of that, the episodes weren't super memorable for me
I think it's just frustrating because there was sooooo much potential character-wise
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dykealloy · 5 months
Text
spoilers up to the end of dressrosa arc here but. I can't stop thinking about how Law takes on Rosinante's will. Corasan freed him from Doflamingo and the marines and the world government and everyone that ever could have touched him at the time, but has Law really felt free? “Everything I do until I die represents what Corasan achieved” is sweet until you recognise that Law is willing (and planned) to go to the grave for that belief. Until Doflamingo dies there is always a part of him stuck in that treasure chest, constrained by what Law felt happened to Corasan due to him that day.
It's crazy how textbook survivors guilt victim Law is (I’m new here so I wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t the first time this has been brought up), but let’s just quickly go over some symptoms:
Obsessive thoughts about the traumatic event ✅ (will go over this in greater detail below)
A sense of disconnection or detachment/need to isolate oneself from others ✅ (Law doesn't fully isolate himself but he definitely has his walls up at all times, though there are often subtle hints of him enjoying the company of the people he chooses to surround himself with. He is notably more reserved, emotionally unavailable, cold and distant than others around him, and watching closely you'll notice that even physically he has a tendency to situate himself three steps behind the group)
Insomnia, nightmares, flashbacks of the traumatic event ✅ (if we can assume some of his backstory expressed in Dressrosa are flashbacks, and also assuming that the perpetual eyeliner he wears are covering some pretty heavy eyebags. Also mention that the only time we see him resting is against Sunny's mast on the way to Dressrosa - and that was 1. a filler episode, and 2. if he was sleeping, it was very quickly interrupted by an attack by petplay guy - a nightmare in of itself)
Irritability and anger ✅ (though elements of this could just be attributed to Law's personality or a natural response to the straw hat's shenanigans, as well as Luffy's total inability to stick to a reasonable plan)
Feelings of despair and thoughts of suicide ✅ (that's Law's Dressrosa arc babe)
Now, there's many reasons why Law is unable to move past this guilt (an apparent lack of therapists in one piece being one of them) - but his inability to believe in unconditional love is likely the biggest offender.
Law may have started off (initially) with one of the most fortunate, stable beginnings, with a loving family and a big house in a rich country (wealth of which was built off the back of lies and corruption and the murder of innocent future generations - we'll get there). But he had a mother and a father who loved and nurtured Law (and were both highly respected doctors in their own right who citizens trusted and relied on). Law's happy beginnings really juxtapose the unfathomable horror that had been lying in wait in Flevance.
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Even when shit started to hit the fan, at a very young age (<10 yrs old), Law was already stepping up and showing love for his little sister (lying to her when she was on her deathbed, knowing full well he would likely face the same fate after reading his charts, putting on a brave face for her so she wouldn't be afraid when the screams began to reach their front door, hiding her away when soldiers sieged their home and rushing to check on his parents). Given everything that happened in Flevance, it's completely understandable that, while Law will likely never forget the love his family gave him, remembering it became twisted in the lasting memories of his home — parents riddled with bullet holes. a closet holding a sick little sister waiting for him in a house engulfed by flames. stumbling through a town of friends, neighbours, just... people he used to pass by on the street, now all dead.
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Seeing hell, knowing why and how it transpired, who were responsible (spoilers, the World Government; the same body that most citizens believe exist to protect them — yeah, sister "a merciful hand of salvation waiting to help" were perhaps the worst possible combination of words you could have left Law with here. Likely instrumental in having him lose his faith "I don't believe in anything anymore."), knowing he is the only survivor, and fated to die anyway due to the terminal illness that is slowly killing him because some figureheads years back were greedy and the governing powers above the figureheads were willing to cover up everything if it meant garnering a portion of wealth and maintaining influence and control. It's beyond grief, beyond rage. And there's absolutely nowhere Law can put it. No one he can retaliate against. Who could come out of hell knowing this and not want to see the world burn?
So, smart little Law escapes under a pile of bodies and goes to the one person infamously revered for being in the business of that kind of thing. And boy oh boy I can only begin to imagine how a young and impressionable Law - fresh from a genocide, with a hole in his heart and a hatred for everything still alive - had his concept of love warped whilst surviving those two years around Doflamingo and his family. A family where members are only welcome so far as they are useful to Doflamingo and his aspirations. Of course Law's going to pick up some fucked up ideas about how love works outside this little white fence he grew up and watched burn down.
Then. Enter Corazon.
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Their relationship may begin on shaky legs (near-juvenicide via defenestration in a failed attempt to ward Law away from sticking around) but Corazon quickly becomes the one person in the world Law can trust and rely on again. And Rosinante can only do so much in terms of healing and guiding this broken kid (yes, his position both as Doffy's brother and as a double agent made things difficult, but need I mention he was only 26! 26 when he died!) but he showed Law kindness and compassion when he was at his lowest. He had faith in the existence of a cure that Law was long past believing. Was determined to help him, even against Law's wishes, even if it meant having Law relive his trauma over and over again. Corasan becomes incredibly important to Law, giving him a reason to live beyond just destruction and revenge.
After the rest of the world had long turned his back on him, when he had been nothing but a dying puddle of rage and self-destructive nihilism, Corasan saved Law. He told Law "Aishiteru" - a very rare way of saying "I love you", never used casually due to the depth of its meaning and the massive connotations behind it - in essence translating to "I love you so much I cannot possibly imagine life without you". There's a high likelihood that at his age, Law had never heard these words before, and probably didn't quite understand the weight of Rosinante saying it at the time.
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Corasan frees Law, then he dies at the hand of Doflamingo, Rosinante's own brother.
All Rosinante wanted was for this poor kid to go on and live his life unburdened by his more than turbulent history and his connection to Doffy, but I think for all his planning, Rosinante's one critical error was well and truly underestimating how much him loving Law, and loving Law to the extent he did, would mean to that kid. Law really went from that ten year old hollow void sentiment of "why does anyone or anything at all get to exist when everything that was important to me is dead, burned to ashes and wiped off the map" to "I should have died at age thirteen and every second I've lived since then, I've only lived as a result of Corasan's efforts and as a personal affront to Doflamingo." This time, Law has a tangible, heinous 10 foot monster of a target to direct 1. his grief and anger and 2. justice for Cora towards, and this time he has the power and will to follow through. More than that, he believes Corasan sacrificed himself for him because he's a D. (someone destined to rain down destruction on the gods - Doflamingo, in this case). Corazon becomes a saint that Law dedicates the rest of his life to. Which is something that Law is not vocal about to just anyone he comes across, but is so unbelievably obvious once you know what you're looking at — his tattoos, his jolly roger, his crew, his ship, his ambitions, his beliefs, his fucking. custom-made Corazon jacket. all of it for this man that showed Law - at a time when he hated the world and everything in it - love. For all of six months. max.
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And his whole life and personality and behaviour CONTINUES to be guided by this trauma — the way he's reckless with himself, his borderline self-destructive actions, the way he keeps telling himself that none of it would've been worth it unless Corasan's last wishes are fulfilled, the way he surrounds himself with bright people and soft things, the way it doesn't register that his crew genuinely loves and cares about him, the way he's terrified of losing anyone important to him again (and I would say this is one of his biggest downfalls as a Captain compared to someone like Luffy - who is just as reckless as Law is but trusts his crew, doesn't try to send them away, isn't afraid to let them grow and risk their lives for him like Law is with the heart crew), his inability to take a damn compliment. The way he doesn't understand Luffy AT ALL.
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Doesn't understand that this alliance that he's brokered means nothing to Luffy because he sees him as FRIEND. No transactions or mutually beneficial pacts necessary. Doesn't get that he's the one that inadvertently asked Luffy to be his friend, thus breaking a long chain of people (mostly parental figures and siblings) abandoning or leaving Luffy behind/no one taking the first initiative to ask to be around him. Law is complete and utterly in the dark as to why someone would ever bat for him when the stakes are this high for no other reason than because they like them and care about them as a person.
Luffy, with his playground rules where he loves unconditionally and will take on the world for a friend he made five minutes ago, perplexes Law with his sheer simplicity.
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When Sengoku tells Law, "Don't try to find a reason for someone's love", I do NOT think he takes it well. Because there must be a reason. There has to be. Between the two options of Corasan saving Law's life and freeing him because he believed in the will of D., or Rosinante saving him for no other reason than because Law was a kid that was loveable, and because he loved him unconditionally... everything we've learned about how Law functions up until this point suggests the former will always make more sense to him, and after everything he's been through, is most likely less painful for him to accept.
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nanawritesit · 4 months
Text
Being EXO’s fem!idol crush who gets shipped with them - Maknae Line Ver.
Hyung Line Ver.
a/n: this is based on the SM girl group idol au that i wrote a while back, please read that first so that the writing will make sense :) AND these scenarios are LONG (esp. Chanyeol’s omg it took FOREVER) so i’m splitting this into two parts! enjoy :)
TW: kissing, sleeping in the same bed, mentions of food, slightly suggestive remarks, mentions of bullying, being held, sitting on his lap, mild cursing
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Chanyeol:
You were both sent by the company to be on a new variety show called “Idol Roommates,” where a bunch of idols would be living together in the same house for a month. SM had sent you, Chanyeol, Yeri, and Ten, Hybe had sent Beomgyu, Jake, Sakura, and Minji, and JYP had sent Bangchan, Yuna, Lily, and and Gunil. The fans were super excited to see all of their favorite idols be roommates, and you had to admit, you were a little too excited to be living in such close proximity with Chanyeol.
The first episode began with you all arriving to the house with your label mates, and greeting all the other idols in the kitchen. There were cameras hidden all around the house, except for in the bathrooms, so you never really could tell what was being broadcasted and what wasn’t.
“So, what do we do first?” Sakura asked once everyone had arrived.
“Oh, there’s a note here on the table…” Bangchan said as he reached for it. “‘Welcome to your new home for the next month! In this bowl are all of your names. Please draw for your roommate and choose your rooms in order of your ages.’” he read aloud.
“Well, Chanyeol hyung is the oldest, so he goes first.” Ten explained, patting Chanyeol’s shoulder.
“Wow, you don’t have to rub it in.” Chanyeol joked, a playful smile on his face. Everyone laughed along with him, quieting down when he reached into the bowl to draw a name.
“Y/N.” he announced. Everyone turned to you expectantly. Yeri and Ten shot you mischievous grins, to which you blushed and looked away. They knew about your enormous crush on Chanyeol, how he had been your bias since high school, and how you used to have posters of him all over your wall. You shot them a dangerous glare before turning to Chanyeol.
“Alright, shall we go pick our room?” you proposed, desperate to get the attention off yourself.
“Yeah, let’s go!” he agreed, leading you up the stairs.
“This one looks the biggest.” you suggested after you had surveyed all the rooms.
He walked over from the other end of the hall and glanced inside the room you were talking about. “Alright, works for me!”
You had separate beds on opposite sides of the room, but it was still a little awkward. The two of you had several interactions in the past, and they were all pleasant, but mostly formal. You began unpacking your suitcases and shuffling around the room to get settled in silence.
As you did so, you could hear the other groupings running excitedly up the stairs to claim their rooms. Ten and Sakura were first, then Bangchan and Yeri. Gunil had picked Jake, then Beomgyu picked Lily, and that left Yuna and Minji together. Hearing the chatter of your colleagues in the background helped ease the tension a bit.
“Do you sleep with a light on?” Chanyeol asked suddenly, making you jump a bit.
You nodded sheepishly. “I’m a bit scared of the dark to be honest.”
“Ah, you’ll have to remind me. I don’t sleep with a light. Are you okay with having a fan on?”
“Yeah, I don’t mind that!” you told him, shuffling awkwardly. “I’m sorry you got stuck rooming with me. I know I’m not the most fun person in the world.”
“No, don’t be sorry… I’m actually relieved that I drew your name.” he told you reassuringly.
“Really?” you asked, cocking your head to the side in curiosity. “Why’s that?”
“Because you’re one of the few people I feel comfortable around in the idol world.” he answered, a tiny, bashful grin on his face.
You tried to ignore the flush creeping up your cheeks. “I feel the same way about you.”
Suddenly, Bangchan and Yeri appeared at your door. “Hey, are you guys ready for the debrief? We’re all heading downstairs now.” Chan asked.
“Yeah, let’s go.” Chanyeol replied, leading you out of the room. He followed Bangchan down the stairs, and with their backs to you, Yeri turned around and wiggled her brows at you. You pushed her forward a bit out of annoyance, causing her to tumble down the stairs by a few steps. You instinctively reached out for her, then looked at her, concerned. You both broke out into laughter, her gripping onto the railing and you holding onto her.
“That would’ve sucked.” Yeri chuckled, holding onto her stomach from laughing so hard.
—————
“Okay, so all the housework has been assigned.” Sakura declared, setting down her slice of pizza. “We’ll do meals in order of oldest to youngest, and chores in order of youngest to oldest.”
The production company had sent you all pizza for your first dinner, but you were instructed to prepare meals for the house for the rest of the time you would be there. That meant that you and Chanyeol would be preparing breakfast tomorrow.
For the remainder of the night, you all just chilled in the enormous living room and talked about all of your careers while a movie played on the TV. Conversation was flowing so smoothly that time just seemed to fly by, and before you knew it, everyone was getting up to get ready for bed, including you and Chanyeol.
“You can take a shower first.” he told you, sitting down at his bed to check his phone.
“Okay, thanks!” you chirped, making your way over to the bathroom.
Once you were done and in your pajamas, which embarrassingly enough had little kittens all over them, you padded your way back over to your own bed. “It’s all yours.” you told him.
“Awesome, be right back.” he responded, getting up from his bed. He did a double take as he looked at you. “Nice pajamas. They’re cute.”
You blushed, trying to focus on drying your hair. “Thank you. Kaori got them for me and I just can’t resist wearing them, even if they are kind of silly.”
“They’re perfect.” he smiled as he walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him.
You sighed, placing your hands on your cheeks to cool them off. Get it together Y/N. You’re on TV.
You went about the rest of your nightly routine, then curled up in bed to scroll on your phone for a bit. After a while, you heard the water shut off, meaning that Chanyeol was done with his shower. And then it happened. Everything went to black.
You yelped a bit at the sudden darkness, gripping onto your blankets.
“Guys?” you heard Gunil shout from down the hallway.
Everyone started emerging into the hallway with their phone flashlights on. “Is everyone okay?” you heard Lily ask.
“Everyone’s here except for Chanyeol and Y/N.” Jake stated. You heard shuffling down the hallway coming towards your room, which only made your anxiety worsen. You didn’t want any of your adult colleagues to see you scared out of your mind just because the electricity went out.
Just as you were preparing to face your housemates, Chanyeol emerged from the bathroom and practically sprinted over to the door with his own phone’s flashlight.
“Yeah, we’re both good in here.” he told your housemates from the doorway, shielding you from the view. “Since it’s the middle of the night anyway, I say we just all go to sleep. The production company’s cameras will have suddenly shut off, so I’m sure they’ll fix it by morning.”
“Yeah, that’s a good point.” Chan agreed. “Well, since everyone’s okay, let’s just go back to our rooms.”
Once everyone was back in their rooms, Chanyeol rushed over to you, sitting down on your bed. “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice dripping with concern. You had never seen him so serious before.
“Yeah… just scared…” you shuddered, gripping onto your blankets.
“It’s okay, nothing is gonna happen to you. I promise.” he comforted you, patting your shoulder. “Do you think you can try to go to sleep?”
You thought for a moment, then shook your head. “I’d be too anxious. I know that nothing is going to happen to me, but it’s just a fear I’ve never been able to shake.”
He looked as if he was tossing an idea around in his head. Hesitantly, he looked back up at you. “Would you be able to sleep if we shared a bed?”
Your eyes went wide. Was Park Chanyeol actually offering to sleep in the same bed as you just so you would feel safe? It was as if all of your dreams were coming true in this moment.
You coughed awkwardly. “Well um… you don’t have to if it makes you uncomfortable, but… it would definitely help.” you stuttered out.
“I don’t mind at all.” he told you, a comforting smile on his features. “I just want you to feel better.”
You grinned, feeling your heart swell with emotions, then scooched over to make room for him.
It was obviously a little bit awkward at first. You both faced away from each other, a good three inches of space between the two of you. You thought that was going to be how the rest of the night went, until you started shaking.
“Y/N, are you trembling?” Chanyeol asked, turning towards you.
You froze. “Um… yeah. I’m sorry. I’m just scared.” you sighed in humiliation.
“It’s alright… do you want me to hold you?” he offered, placing a hand on your shoulder.
“I… I don’t want you to feel like you have to…” you spat out reluctantly, even though your heart was screaming at you to say yes immediately.
“I want to, Y/N.” he told you, a slight chuckle slipping out as he did so. “I mean, who doesn’t want to hold the person they like as they fall asleep?”
Your heart stopped. More than anything, you said in your head.
Your mouth fell open in shock, and you frantically flopped over to face him completely. “You like me?”
He nodded, a small smirk on his face. “I thought it was obvious.”
Your face broke out into a huge, toothy grin, and you lunged forward to hide your blushing face in his chest. He chuckled at your bashfulness, closing his arms around you in a tight embrace.
“Shall we get some sleep?” he asked.
You happily nodded in his hold. “I think I can manage now that I’ll have something to dream about.”
“Goodnight Y/N.” he whispered, placing a gentle kiss to your forehead before curling up around you.
“Goodnight Chanyeol.”
—————
In the morning, you tumbled awake to see him sitting up against the headboard scrolling on his phone. “I was just about to wake you up.” he chuckled, ruffling your hair. “Did you sleep well?”
You nodded groggily, smiling through squinted eyes. “All thanks to you.” you curled into his side.
“Although you look super adorable right now, we really should get started on breakfast.” he suggested. “We don’t want everyone going hungry.”
“I suppose so…” you sighed, getting out of bed. You both threw on your robes and slippers and made your way downstairs to the kitchen.
“Alright, what are we working with?” Chanyeol inquired as he opened the fridge, inspecting its contents.
“Well first of all, we’re going to need lots of coffee.” you giggled, busying yourself with the coffee pot.
“Very true. I can get started on some eggs and bacon while you do that.” he decided, swiping the ingredients out of the fridge and moving over to the stove. You prepared breakfast in a comfortable silence, that was, until the front door swung open, and three suited men strode in. You recognized one as your manager, but had no idea who the other two were.
“Hyung? What’s going on?” Chanyeol asked one of the men you didn’t know. You now assumed it was his manager.
“Don’t worry, we shut the cameras off this morning.” the man responded to him. “However, the production manager would like to tell you something.” He turned to the last remaining unidentified man and looked at him begrudgingly. Your own manager looked equally as annoyed with the supposed production manager, tapping his foot impatiently.
The man sighed. “The electrical outage was staged last night. Cameras were rolling throughout the entire night, and everything that went on was broadcasted.”
“You mean… the fans saw…?” you asked meekly, feeling your heart drop into your stomach.
“Yes, they saw you and Chanyeol sleeping in the same bed and confessing to one another.” your manager told you, a sympathetic look in his eyes. “I’m sorry kid. They didn’t tell us about this, or else we would’ve told you not to act as if you were in private.”
“There is, however, a bit of good news that goes along with this.” Chanyeol’s manager interjected. “The fans are really happy about it.”
You both snapped your heads up in shock. “Really?”
“Our ratings went through the roof.” the production manager explained. “Just in the past eight hours, we’ve received more viewers than any of our previous pilot episodes combined.”
“What are they saying?” you inquired, still incredibly surprised that the response was positive. Fans were not usually supportive of idol romance, wanting to maintain their own personal fantasies about their idols being available. In fact, “Idol Roomates” was kind of a controversial show because it allowed male and female idols to live together as if they were couples.
“See for yourself.” your manager instructed, holding his phone out to you. You began scrolling through some recent tweets he had pulled up on his phone, Chanyeol looking over your shoulder to read them with you.
I TOLD YOU GUYS IDOL ROOMMATES WAS FIRE, NOW WE GET Y/N AND CHANYEOL CONTENT 🔥
channie was soooo sweet to comfort y/n while she was afraid of the dark 🥺 i love seeing him be so soft to her ❤️
that innocent forehead kiss!!! i love them so much!!! <3
“Wow… that’s amazing.” Chanyeol marveled, running a hand through his hair. “So… what now?”
“Well, that’s up to you guys.” his manager replied. “The company has given us the okay to either confirm or deny the relationship based on your wishes.”
You both glanced at the floor, thinking to yourselves for a moment. Suddenly, you looked up and realized that you didn’t owe anyone an explanation.
“Let’s not say anything.” you suggested. Everyone looked over to you with a slightly shocked expression.
“Nothing?” your manager asked. “You mean, just let them wonder?”
“Actually, that’s not a bad idea…” the production manager agreed, tapping his chin in thought. “They are the most popular couple on the show, and no matter what, there are going to be skeptics on whether or not it was staged. Why don’t we just let the show be an experiment?”
“And if we ever do develop a relationship, this can be looked back on as where it developed.” Chanyeol grinned, taking your hand in his.
You grinned at him appreciatively, then turned back to your manager. “Is that okay?”
He shrugged, an amused smile on his face. “It’s your call, kid.”
You looked back over at Chanyeol, who gave you a determined nod.
“Let’s do it.” you decided.
“Alright, case closed.” Chanyeol’s manager stated, clapping his hands together. “We’re going to see that you guys have a few minutes to speak with each other alone before they turn the cameras back on...” He shot a dirty look to the production manager before continuing. “… but other than that, we hope you have fun on the show. And please, don’t take it too far. Fans can be quite temperamental.”
As soon as the three men left the room, you turnt to Chanyeol. “Did you really mean that?”
“What? That I see us developing a relationship?” he asked, scratching his head with a cute smile. “I thought that much was obvious.”
You giggled, shaking your head at yourself. “This is the second time I’ve been completely oblivious. I feel like such a fool.”
“You’re not a fool.” he reassured you, pulling you into his arms for a tight hug. His height always allowed him to give the best hugs. He made you feel so safe and cared for. “You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Thank you…” you whimpered into his chest. “I really do want to make this work.”
“And it will.” he grinned, rocking you slightly. “I promise.”
You looked up, resting your chin on his chest. “I believe you. You promised nothing would happen to me last night, and you were right.”
He smiled down at you affectionately. “There’s one more thing I want to do with these last few minutes we’ll get alone.”
“Hm?” you asked, once again oblivious to his insinuation.
Before you even had time to register what was happening, his lips were on yours. His hands came up to hold onto your face and press himself further up against you. You held your breath, then relaxed into his arms, hands linking together behind his neck. He began to deepen the kiss, puckering his lips against yours repeatedly and darting his tongue between them periodically. When you were completely out of air, you pulled back, both of your chests heaving against one another.
“I can’t wait until this show is over and we can have some real privacy.” you grinned suggestively. “Now, shall we finish breakfast?”
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D.O:
You rubbed your sweaty palms against the rough material of your jeans, taking a deep shaky breath as you waited in the recording studio. Usually when you were nervous in a place like this, it was because you were worried about messing up your notes or forgetting the lyrics. But that wasn’t the case today. You had practiced the drama’s OST relentlessly, and knew the song forwards, backwards, and sideways. What you were nervous about was the fact that you were going to be singing a duet with Do Kyungsoo.
Not only were you totally intimidated by his vocals, but you also had the most mortifying crush on him. Everyone at the company seemed to know about it except him, and you wanted to keep it that day. You just hoped you wouldn’t make a fool of yourself in front of him today.
You jumped as he entered the room, springing to your feet. He looked ungodly handsome, clad in a black button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up halfway and jeans.
“Hey Y/N.” he smiled warmly as you locked eyes. “How’s it going?”
“Hey, I’ve been really good!” you choked out, playing with the sleeve of your sweater. “How about you? I saw you guys were in Jeju Island last week. I mean, on Instagram, I wasn’t there stalking you or anything. Not that I’m not a fan, but…” you stopped yourself before you dug down into an even deeper hole.
He chuckled at your babbling, somehow finding it endearing. “We were, it was a really good trip. Although I almost threw Baekhyun off a cliff while we were hiking.”
“Oh, that’s not good! Accidents happen, I suppose.” you shrugged, brushing your hair back behind your ears. You could feel a thin layer of sweat on the back of your neck, a telltale sign that you were nervous. You had to tell yourself to calm down, you didn’t want to look sweaty when they filmed the video.
“Oh no, it would’ve been on purpose. He was being insufferable.” he explained, grinning evilly. God, he was so attractive.
You laughed, genuinely this time. “I get it. Sometimes I want to strangle the girls.”
He hummed in amusement. “Look at us, bonding over wanting to kill our members.”
You giggled at his comment, feeling yourself relax slightly. Maybe this isn’t going to be so ba-
“Alright guys, the company wants us to film the video now, so in the booth.” your manager decreed as he entered the room.
Nevermind.
“We don’t get a chance to practice at all?” Kyungsoo asked, looking understandably irritated.
“I’m sorry guys, they forgot about the deadline they gave the marketing team for the drama.” the other man explained sympathetically. “They need it within the next hour, and editing is going to need at least a half hour after we film it.”
“Awesome…” you sighed, grabbing a pair of headphones and following Kyungsoo into the booth.
You could feel your nerves getting the better of you, making your hands shake and your throat go dry, both of which would not be good for your performance.
Kyungsoo seemed to notice this, and grabbed your hand gently. Your heart stopped, making you freeze in place.
“Hey, you’ve got this.” he whispered with a comforting smile. “You have the voice of an angel.”
Butterflies swarmed in your stomach. He thought your voice was angelic?
“Alright guys, camera is rolling.” your manager said from the control panel. Music starting in 3…2…”
You exhaled as the music started, letting yourself ease up. You glanced over at Kyungsoo. He was looking at you with such kind, sensitive eyes. You couldn’t help the smile that appeared on your face as you began to sing your lines. When you were looking at him, it was really easy to belt out a love song.
He seemed to feel the same way as he started singing his own verse, his smile never faltering as he gazed into your eyes affectionately.
As you began to sing the chorus together, it was like the stars aligned. You were perfectly in synch, voices intertwining together like two rivers of golden honey merging into one. You were both putting so much passion and energy into the song, the lyrics resonating in both of your hearts as you looked at one another.
As the song came to a close, you both held your notes until the music ended, looking at each other breathlessly. Both of your eyes were twinkling, and you could feel chills running down your spine. That was the best duet you had ever sung with anyone.
“That was amazing you guys!” your manager suddenly said, snapping you out of your daze. “I don’t know how you guys did it perfect on the first try, but great job!”
“Uh, thanks!” you stammered, removing your headphones. You started to blush as you realized the amazing connection you and Kyungsoo had just had. Your anxiety was quickly returning, causing you to act without thinking.
You turned to him. “God, it’s hot in here. Are you hot? I mean, you are hot, I mean-“
He looked at you expectantly, as if you could possibly recover from that humiliating sentence. However, he didn’t look embarrassed at all. He had a hopeful glint in his eyes and an anticipated smile.
However, you were far too overwhelmed with your own nerves to notice. “Well, I’m gonna go home. See you later alligator!”
And with that, you bolted out of the studio and ran back to your dorm, not stopping until you were back in your bedroom. Nabi and Kaori were shouting after you, but you just ignored them, slamming your door behind you.
You collapsed your back against the door and slid down until you were on the floor, placing your head in your hands. “‘See you later alligator?’ What am I, 50?!”
—————
After a few hours of cycling through rotting in your bed, pacing the floor in anxiety, crying out of humiliation, and passing out from exhaustion, you were disturbed by yet another knock on your door. You groaned, assuming it was one of your members trying to talk to you again.
“Dude, I love you, but go away, I need to be alone.” you grumbled, pulling your pillow up over your head.
You heard the door open and someone walk in, but you didn’t have the energy to look up. Maybe if I stay really still, they’ll think I’m dead, and then they’ll leave, you thought.
You felt them sink down on the bed next to you and place a hand on your shoulder. “Y/N? Can we talk?”
You snapped up, eyes widening as you realized who was in front of you. “Kyungsoo!” You frantically fixed your hair and wiped your face. “Oh god, I look terrible…”
“No you don’t.” he chuckled, brushing a strand of your hair behind your ear.
You froze at his touch, relishing the feeling of his fingers in your hair before blinking back to reality. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I just thought you should know how well our OST is doing.” he grinned, pulling out his phone. You leaned forward to see the music video you made that already had millions of views in just a few short hours.
“Wow, people love it this much?” you asked in disbelief.
“That’s not all. Look at the comments.” he handed you his phone, and you did as he asked.
You know this drama’s gonna be good when they got Y/N AND Kyungsoo to sing the OST… total power vocal couple!
Y/N and Kyungsoo might as well be the main couple in the drama, their chemistry is insane
the way they sing the song to each other… my heart 💓 💓💓
You couldn’t help the giddy feeling that was blooming in your chest, attempting to fight off your smile to no avail. “They really like us, huh?”
He nodded, setting his phone back down. “There’s another reason I came here.”
“Hm?” you asked, cocking your head to the side in curiosity.
He took your hand in his, just as he had done in the recording booth earlier. “Y/N, you don’t have to be so nervous around me. I think you’re adorable, and I really like you.”
Fireworks went off in your stomach. “Y-you do?”
“Of course I do.” he laughed, shaking your hand in exaggeration. “Why do you think I asked to sing the OST with you?”
Your jaw unhinged in shock. “You asked to be paired with me?”
“Well yeah, how else was I going to get close to you?” he chuckled. “I was going to ask you out after we finished, but you ran away so quickly, I never got the chance.
You blinked at him a few times, then erupted into a fit of laughter. He joined you, doubling over slightly.
As you both settled down, he leaned in closer. “Will you go out with me?” he practically whispered.
You nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, yes! Of course I will!”
He smiled brighter than you had ever seen him do before, then slowly inched closer to your face. His eyes were focused on your lips.
Deciding you had been oblivious enough for one day, you took the hint and closed the distance between the two of you, crashing your lips onto his. He placed a hand delicately on your cheek, then began deepening the kiss, until you both pulled away, eyelids fluttering open slowly.
He smirked. “So, where do you want to go, angel voice?”
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Kai:
“You’ve got it… you’ve got it…” Ten instructed you, guiding your movements. You were both in the dance practice room, covered in sweat as you went through the routine. You were working on a partner dance for your next solo album, and you wanted it to be with Ten, but somehow it just wasn’t going as planned. You were stumbling through the steps, there was no flow so your movements were jerky, and you somehow couldn’t shake the tense expression from your face.
As the music finished, you awkwardly caught your footing and struck the most pathetic ending pose you’d ever done. Ten gave you a crooked smile out of sympathy, which somehow made you feel ten times worse.
“Ugh, this is hopeless.” you sighed, throwing your hands up in resignation as you plopped down on the floor and leaned your back up against the mirror. “I’m never going to get this routine down in time.”
“Hey, it’s not your fault.” he attempted to reassure you, sitting down next to you. “You’re doing everything right. Sometimes, it just takes a little while to get the right feel for it.”
“Yeah, or I’m just a horrible dancer.” you huffed. You put your head in your hands and scrunched up your hair. The shoot was in two weeks, and this routine had to be perfect. Your fans deserved nothing less.
Ten was conflicted on what he should say next. On one hand, he wanted to tell you how amazing and talented you were, but on the other hand, he knew it wasn’t going to mean anything if you didn’t believe it yourself. He decided to grab a water bottle and hand it to you with a warm smile. “How about you just take a little break? I’m sure you’ll feel better in a few minutes.”
You smiled back at him, taking the water bottle from him gratefully. Your brow furrowed as he stood up and walked towards the door. “Where are you going?”
“I’m gonna go find something that’ll help.” he grinned over his shoulder before leaving the room.
You shook your head at his cryptic behavior, then collapsed back against the mirror, staring up at the ceiling in desperation. Please God, if you’re listening, please send me something to help with this dance.
“Y/N?” you heard someone ask from the doorway.
You snapped your head down to see who it was, and smiled widely at the pleasant sight before you. “Kai! What are you doing here?”
“Just checking in on my favorite junior.” he smirked, shutting the door behind him as he strolled in. His hands were shoved in the pockets of his jacket as he stopped in front of you, looking you over with a concerned expression. “What are you doing on the floor?”
“Just taking a break.” you replied, stretching slightly. “I’m too bad of a dancer not to.”
He frowned, crouching down to your level to glare at you. “Don’t say that about yourself. You’re an amazing dancer.”
“You haven’t seen me practice this routine.” you chuckled. “I’m sure you would change your mind if you did.”
“Alright then, show me.” he demanded, standing back up and taking a step back.
“Wait, like now?” you asked, slowly getting up yourself. “You don’t even know the routine…”
“I’m sure I can improvise.” he grinned, taking his jacket off and throwing it to the side, leaving him in just a cutoff tank top and sweats. “What, do you doubt my skills?”
“Absolutely not.” you chuckled. You had been secretly admiring him since before you even became a trainee, in more ways than one.
You got into position and waited for the music to start, then thrust into action as you began the routine. The first half went almost perfect, as it was just your solo part. You began to get nervous as the duet portion approached, feeling your muscles begin to tense up.
Kai approached you and placed his hands gently on your waist, a focused spark in his eyes. He somehow knew the exact partner position, and began guiding you across the floor.
“Relax, relax…” he instructed calmly, “remember to breathe.” He spun you around and placed a hand on the small of your back.
You inhaled deeply, holding the breath in your chest for a bit, then exhaled and released all the tension you didn’t realize you were holding onto. You started being able to flow through the moves better, but now you were hyper-focusing the footwork.
“Hey, don’t look at your feet. Focus on me.” he brought you back to center once again, twirling you back to face him and placing his hands on the sides of your face.
You looked up at him, locking in on his pretty brown eyes. It was as if they were telling you exactly what you needed to do, and for a moment, your body was running on autopilot, and all you thought about was being close to him.
“Show me that pretty smile, white swan.” he chuckled with a playful grin, instantly making you giggle and blush.
You actually couldn’t believe that you were going through the entire routine without any problems, and as you struck the ending pose, you were absolutely speechless. “That was…”
“Brilliant!” Ten suddenly interrupted you, causing you to jump away from Kai defensively.
“T-Ten!” you stammered nervously. “We were just-“
“It’s okay, I told him to come here.” your best friend smirked from the doorway. “I found him in the hall and he asked how you were doing.”
“You did?” you asked, a touched lilt to your voice.
“I told you, I wanted to check in on my favorite junior.” Kai explained, brushing the hair out of his face with an innocent half smile. “Ten said you were having trouble with the dance, so I had him show me the training video, and then I told him I’d help you.”
“Oh, well that’s a relief...” you sighed, glad you didn’t have to explain yourself to Ten. “So, you’re not-?”
“Jealous? Hardly.” he chortled, shaking his head. “In fact, I think you should do the dance with Kai for your music video.”
Your jaw unhinged slightly in shock. “Really?”
“Oh yeah, the chemistry is way better. You really seem to enjoy yourself when you’re dancing with him.” he teased, winking at you inadvertently.
You shot him a warning glare, then turned back to Kai. “Is that alright with you?”
“It’d be my pleasure.” he grinned, extending his hand to you. “Shall we?”
—————
It had been a week since your latest solo comeback dropped, and all of Starlight was losing their minds over it. Albums sold out everywhere, you had already one two awards, and everywhere you went, you heard it being played on the radio.
After one of your performance stages, you were sitting in your dressing room, and decided to look over some of the comments on the music video again. You always loved seeing what your fans had to say about your work.
There were a lot about how pretty you looked, how beautiful your vocals were, and how proud of you your fans were, all of which made you giddy with appreciation. However, some were starting to stick out to you and pique your interest. Particularly, the ones about your dance with Kai.
the tension between Y/N and Kai is so thick you could cut it with a knife 👀
i don’t think i’ve ever seen our Y/N dance so well with anyone else than with Kai… i hope they do more stuff together :)
anyone else think Y/N and Kai would make the PERFECT couple??? just me???
You felt your cheeks grow red and warm at the insinuation. I mean, sure, you had been fantasizing about dating Kai for years now. But now that you knew your fans approved, it was all the more flustering.
“Knock knock.” someone interrupted your thoughts as they entered your dressing room.
You looked up, then scoffed playfully. “Kai, if you keep showing up unannounced, I’m going to have to start locking my door. I could’ve been bare faced!”
“And you’d still look just as beautiful.” he commented, smiling at you genuinely.
You pouted your lips affectionately, then stood up to hug him. “Thank you so much.”
“Me? What for?” he asked, wrapping his arms around you to reciprocate the hug.
“If it wasn’t for you, I never would’ve gotten that dance down.” you beamed into his shoulder.
A quiet chuckle rang through your ears. “You already had everything you needed to accomplish it. I just pointed you in the right direction.”
You gave him one final squeeze, then invited him to sit down on the couch with you. “So, what brings you all the way here?”
“Well, I had to admit, seeing you do the dance with that backup dancer on stage made me pretty jealous.” he replied, a more serious expression appearing on his face.
“Oh?” you inquired, folding your hands in your lap. “Is that so?”
He nodded slowly. “Indeed. I was going to let it go, but after reading some of the comments on your music video, I was inspired to do something about it.”
Your heart soared as you imagined him reading the exact comments as you had read previously. Did he feel the same butterflies when he read them over?
“And what exactly are you going to do?” you asked, feeling your nerves vibrate harder with every passing second.
“I want to ask you out.” he told you. He leaned in closer to you, to where you could see the sparkle in his eyes. “Is that alright?”
“Yes, it is.” you replied, letting a huge smile plaster itself across your face. “And yes, I’ll absolutely go out with you.”
He replicated your large grin, patting your leg affectionately. “That’s wonderful. Because I don’t want you dancing with anyone else.”
You chuckled, squeezing his hand a bit. “Well, you’re going to have to fight my members for that right.”
He thought to himself for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t think I could take them, they’re pretty tough. I’ll settle for being the only guy you dance with.”
“Deal.” you giggled, leaning forward to place a soft kiss on his cheek. “Thank you again, Kai.”
“You’re welcome, white swan.” he chimed. He rose up from his seat and walked over to the door. “I’ll leave you to unwind. I’ll text you later to set up the date, okay?”
You nodded, waving goodbye to him. “Sounds good, talk to you later!”
You turnt back to your mirror, beginning to brush out your curls. However, you were startled as Kai ran back into the room quickly.
He placed a bouquet of flowers on the vanity in front of you, then kissed you on the cheek briskly. “I almost forgot, these are for you. Congratulations on such a good comeback.”
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Sehun:
“Excuse me, pardon me, ‘it girl’ coming through!” Nabi declared as you made your way through the busy photo shoot studio.
“Ugh, shut up Nabi!” you scowled over your shoulder at her. “I hate it when you call me that!”
“Hey, I’m not the only one.” the leader shrugged, chuckling mischievously. “Everyone calls you that nowadays.”
“Well, I’d prefer to only deal with it when I’m being interviewed.” you scoffed, setting your bag down at your vanity.
“Spoken like a true queen.” Nabi smirked, crossing her arms across her chest.
You rolled your eyes. “Why did you even come with me today?”
The younger girl shrugged. “You’ve been stressed lately. I figured I’d tag along to make sure you have a comedic buffer.”
You softened at her kind gesture, touching her arm lightly. “That’s really sweet of you.”
“They also always have huge snack buffets at these things.” she added. “I’m gonna go get a plate, okay?”
You went back to your previous mood, sighing and sitting down. “Yeah, just get me some chips.”
You watched her skitter off to the snack table, shaking your head at her. In front of the other girls, she was a strict, stern dictator. But around you, the only member older than her, she was a true child. However, she was your best friend, so you tried to find it endearing.
“Y/N?” a deep voice inquired from behind you.
You spun around in your chair and gawked at the realization of who stood in front of you. “Sehun?!”
He smiled at your surprise, holding out his arms in a dramatic gesture. “In the flesh.”
You sprung up out of your chair in an instant, practically jumping into his arms to give him a hug. He stumbled backwards a bit, laughing at your sudden affection, then caught his footing and wrapped his arms around you.
“I’ve missed you so much!” you told him, pulling away. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here for the Valentine’s Day shoot.” he replied.
You knit your brows together in confusion. “Really? Because this is…” You looked around the studio, then it dawned on you. There were heart shaped decorations and pink balloons everywhere, and the studio had a romantic, dim lighting.
“Oh… they didn’t tell me this would be a couple’s shoot…” you chuckled awkwardly.
His eyebrows raised in surprise. “Really? That’s strange. Maybe they knew you’d be nervous if you were told ahead of time that you’d be doing a shoot with the Great Oh Sehun.” He flipped his hair dramatically, a cocky smirk on his face.
You scrunched your nose up, hitting him on the arm playfully. “Ugh, don’t be so smug. It doesn’t suit you.” You were actually just trying to hide the fact that he was right.
Sehun had been slowly becoming one of your best friends at the company, ever since that day he walked in on you being bullied by a bunch of female trainees and silenced all of them with his presence. He was actually competing with Yeri, Ten, and Karina for a spot on your BFF list.
However, you had always secretly hoped for more with him. He was so kind, even though he could seem cold at first, and he always made you laugh. He was so caring, despite how hard he tried not to be, and had incredible wit and humor. Plus, there was the fact that he was incredibly handsome. Like, obnoxiously so. But, as much you wanted things to go to the next level, they remained stagnant. Neither of you were the most upfront about your feelings.
“There you guys are!” the director suddenly clapped his hands behind you, pulling you away from your conversation. “I’ll let makeup and wardrobe know you’re here, and we should be able to start shooting in about an hour.”
You both nodded and thanked him, then turned back to one another.
“See you behind the camera.” Sehun proposed with a minuscule wink that was so small you wouldn’t have caught it if you hadn’t been admiring his features so closely these past few years.
You sent him one last smile, then turned back to your vanity while he strode over to his own.
Suddenly, Nabi reappeared next to you with a plate full of snacks. “What was that about?” she asked, crunching on a pretzel.
“Oh nothing, I just have to do an amorous photo shoot with my secret crush.” you grumbled, falling back against your chair with your hands bunched up in your hair. “Did you get my chips?”
Her eyes widened. “I’m sorry, I forgot.”
“Nabi! Either be helpful or leave!”
—————
The hour of makeup and wardrobe went by way too fast for your liking. You had been trying to build up your courage to no avail. It seemed hopeless. How on Earth were you going to do a romantic couple’s shoot with your crush without it looking you were hopelessly devoted to him? Not that you weren’t, you just didn’t need the whole world knowing it. That would be mortifying, not to mention a total career killer.
You walked over to the photo setup, which featured a red velvet sofa and a table with an extravagant bouquet of flowers. You swallowed the hard lump in your throat, making one last stitch effort to calm yourself down. Settle down, Y/N. It’s just a photo shoot with your colleague. I’m sure he won’t even be-
“Is this chain on straight?” your thoughts were interrupted by the man in question. You flipped around to see him dressed in a deep v-neck black blazer with a white button-up shirt underneath, the top three buttons undone to reveal his chest, adorned with a glimmering silver chain necklace. His thick black locks were tousled and textured perfectly around his forehead, and his skin was practically glowing.
Okay nevermind, time to panic.
“Holy shit, you look hot.” you heard yourself speak, although you don’t remember making the decision to. Instant regret flooded your brain, and you immediately began apologizing. “Oh my god, I meant the chain looks hot. I’m sorry. I mean, not that you’re not hot, I just…”
“Thank you.” he cut you off, a pleased smile evident on his features. “You look hot too.”
Your heart practically jumped out of your chest. “Th-Thank you…” You were sure your face was as red as a tomato. However, you had to admit, you did look pretty hot in your tight red dress, pearls, vampy lipstick, and red strappy heels.
“Alright, we’re ready to get started!” the director declared from his chair. “Sehun, I’d like to start with you laying on the couch horizontally. Y/N, go ahead and sit on his lap facing the camera.”
You did as instructed, although uncomfortably. He sensed your tension and placed a comforting hand on your shoulder.
“It’s okay, just relax.” he suggested, a reassuring smile directed at you.
You gave him an appreciative grin, loosening up and leaning into his form.
“Okay, now Sehun, put your chin on Y/N’s shoulder and rest your head against her neck. Y/N, just keep looking forward.”
The camera flashed a few times, with a few breaks in between to look over the shots.
“I’m really proud of you, you know.” Sehun told you while the camera crew was busy.
“What do you mean?” you asked him, laying against the back of the couch.
“You’ve come a long way from the girl I met who was letting some older trainees pick on her.” he teased. “I’ll never forget the look on your face when I appeared next to you.”
You laughed at the memory. “And I’ll never forget the looks on those girls’ faces when you told them off.”
He joined you in your laughter. “Notice how none of them are at the company anymore, and how you’re the ‘it girl’ now?”
You smiled contentedly. “Everyone seems to be calling me that these days.”
He suddenly scooped you up in his arms and pulled you down to his chest, ruffling your hair affectionately. “You’ve always been my ‘it girl’ Y/N, from day one.”
You squealed as he caged you in his arms, feigning resistance. A sudden flash went off, and you both looked up to see the camera crew staring at you blankly.
“Ah, sorry guys, that was my fault...” a feeble intern announced nervously. “I accidentally hit the wrong button.”
“Wait, let me see that shot…” the director demanded, motioning for the camera to be brought over to him. He looked it over, then turnt to you both with a baffled expression. “This is it. This is our cover photo.”
“What? No way.” you marveled, getting up and walking over to the director. Sehun followed you, catching you as you stumbled a bit in your heels. You looked at the photo, and soon you were both making the same face that the director had made a few seconds ago. “Woah… this is amazing…”
“Look at how beautiful you are…” Sehun commented, taking in the picture lovingly.
You blushed, nudging him slightly.
The director clapped his hands dramatically, snapping you both back to reality. “Alright, let’s keep this energy going! Next I want a shot of Y/N pulling Sehun in by his chain!”
—————
A few days later, you were chilling out at the dorm with your members, having a much needed girls’ night. All of your favorite snacks were laid out on the coffee table, you were all in your pajamas, and there was a cheesy rom-com playing on the TV, even though none of you were paying attention to it. You were far too busy gossiping, squealing, and beautifying each other. It might have been stereotypical girl behavior, but it was incredibly therapeutic.
“Everyone shut up!” Nabi suddenly decreed, jumping up on the couch and holding something behind her back.
You looked up from braiding Kaori’s hair. “Oh god, what is it now?”
The younger girls all laughed, finding it hilarious that you were the only one able to talk to Nabi like that.
“Well ‘it girl,’ it just so happens that I have the most recent issue of Elle in my hands.” the leader grinned evilly, brandishing the magazine out in front of her.
The other three girls all gasped and rushed over to grab at it, except for Iseul, who just jumped up and down excitedly. Her nails were still wet from Marie painting them a few minutes ago.
“Oh my god, you look so hot!” Marie marveled, flipping through the glossy pages.
“Yeah, and this one of you pulling Sehun in by his chain is just perfect!” Iseul nodded in agreement.
“Wait, the shoot was with Sehun?” Kaori asked, her eyes going wide with innocent shock.
“Yes Kaori, we talked about it three days ago. Keep up.” Marie groaned at the maknae.
“Hey, be nice.” you warned protectively. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Yeah right. You’ve only been in love with him for years now.” Nabi challenged you, jumping down from the couch.
“I am not in love with him.” you rolled your eyes. “Besides, he doesn’t feel that way about me.”
“The fans seem to think differently.” Nabi commented smugly, whipping out her phone. “Look what they’re saying on Elle’s post about it.”
You snatched the phone out of her hand and began to skim over the comments.
you could tell me the cover shot was totally improvised and i’d believe you… their affection looks so real <3
who knew the oldest member of Etoile and the youngest member of EXO would make such a fire couple? TOTAL goals!
The fact that they’ve been friends since Y/N was a trainee makes this so much cuter… they’re clearly in love with each other 💞
These two OWN Valentine’s Day now 😤
“Look at how big her smile is!” Kaori grinned admiringly at you.
“I know, it’s so cute!” Marie added, wrapping her arms around your maknae and twirling her around. “‘Oh Sehun, please marry me!’”
“‘Oh Y/N, I’d love to make you my wife!’” the younger girl acted out, giggling madly.
You scowled, trying not to laugh along with them. “How come you two only get along when it’s at my expense?”
You all froze as the sound of a phone ringing suddenly cut through the noise.
You looked over at the end table to see your phone lit up and vibrating. You picked it up and unhinged your jaw as you saw who it was from. “It’s Sehun. I’m gonna go take this.” You got up and rushed down the hall to your bedroom.
The three youngest members attempted to follow you, but Nabi stood protectively in front of the hallway. “Nope, no one is eavesdropping. This should be private.” Marie, Iseul, and Kaori started pouting and vocalizing their protest. That was, until Nabi gave them her signature glare. “Living room, now.” She really was a great leader when she wanted to be.
Shutting your door behind you, you answered the call. “Hello?”
“Hey Y/N, it’s me.” Sehun said from the other end. He sounded uncharacteristically anxious.
“Hey, is everything okay?” you asked in a concerned manner.
“Oh yeah, I’m fine.” he coughed nervously. “I just wanted to… you know….”
“Wanted to what?” you giggled, sitting down on your bed.
You heard him exhale momentarily as if mentally preparing himself for something. “If you’d like to go out with me for Valentine’s Day?”
Your breath hitched in your chest. “What?”
“Don’t make me say it again…” he sighed, clearly having trouble being this forward. “I just… we had so much fun at the shoot together… and you’re just so cool, and fun, and pretty. I’ve never really known how or when to say it, but… something about that couples’ shoot just pushed me to go for it. So will you?”
You clutched onto your chest as if it was the only thing keeping you grounded to Earth. “Yes… yes, of course I will!”
“Really?” he marveled, sounding genuinely surprised. “I can’t believe you agreed.”
“Sehun, I’ve literally been waiting for you to ask me out for years now.” you chuckled. “You’re the worst at picking up on signals.”
“Yeah, well you’re not very good at sending them.” he teased, clearly getting his confidence back.
You laughed cutely into the phone. “We’re not very good at this are we…”
“No, not at all.” he chortled, shaking his head. You could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke. “And just so you know… I meant it when I said that you’ve been my ‘it girl’ since day one.”
You blushed with a small smile. “I usually hate it when people call me that. But with you, it feels good.”
“Well, I’ll have to call you by that name as much as possible. Then you can be mine exclusively, and no one else’s.” he replied.
You laughed once again, feeling like a giddy school girl. “I always have been, remember?”
He laughed at your sudden cockiness, knowing that you definitely learned it from him. “I’ll see you on Valentine’s Day?”
You nodded, feeling your lips curl up into a grin. “I’ll see you then.”
“Goodnight, my ‘it girl.’”
“Goodnight Sehun.” you giggled, hanging up the phone. You then threw it across the room and flopped back onto your bed, rolling around and kicking your feet in ecstasy.
“Y/N! What happened?” Marie suddenly burst through your door, followed by the other girls. You assumed Nabi held them off as long as she could, but eventually lost strength. There were three of them after all.
You sat up, brushing your hair out of your face. “Guess who’s going out with Sehun on Valentine’s Day!”
The four girls all screamed and jumped on your bed, showering you with praise and congratulations. You laughed as you captured them all in a group hug. It was then that you realized you didn’t need to be the ‘it girl’ to be happy, you just needed moments like these. And with Sehun, they seemed to just keep coming.
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bloodreddemons · 3 months
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Hazbin Hotel Episode 1-4 Hot Takes! ~
They finally dropped. They are finally here, and I have A LOT to say. (Good & the bad, my opinions of course.)
Episode 1 was kinda boring and it just seemed overall weird and off. It didn't really pick back up that well, or align with the pilot too much, and the pilot slapped.
I feel like for those who haven't seen the pilot would be so confused with what is going on or who the characters even are. It feels like you also have to do a bit of digging to actually figure out other details.
I wasn't expecting to like Adam he was funny asf and I loved his singing. Love Alex Brightman he's great.
I can see what people are saying now when they were talking about the premise changing or being different, it definitely seems that way. It just feels like it's all over the place and there's multiple things happening at once. A bit confusing.
Charlie just looks weird to me I don't know why, I kinda like how she used to look.
Sir Pentious new voice is better. Again, love Alex Brightman. Lol.
Loser, Baby, Hell is forever, Poison, & Respectless are the best songs so far. Stayed Gone is ok too tho.
I'm interested in finding out why Lilith & Alastor were gone for like 7 years. I wonder where they went and it just makes me wonder if the war against heaven was possibly planned?? 🤔
I love Brandon Roger's but I didn't really like him as Katie Killjoy I think I liked the other VA. I just don't hear Katie, I hear Bryce Tankthrust.
I wish Vivzie designed Sir Pentious with more of a steampunk look since that's what era he's from so he's not wearing almost the same exact suit every other Overlord has.
Nifty is literally fucking iconic. I enjoyed her every time she was on screen even if it was for a short time. She's so funny.
I was expecting Vox & Valentino to have deeper voices but they still sounded great.
Velvette fucking ATE I was pleasantly surprised by her. I love her so much. She's my favorite of the VVV's and her singing is so good.
Charlie & Vaggie's fight wasn't that impactful, it kinda just came out of nowhere and seemed like something that should have happened way later. It didn't even seem like such a big deal either to be an argument.
I don't really like Vox as a person for letting Valentino treat Angel Dust the way he does. Just trash. He has to know about it.
Vox is just too obsessed with Alastor. He wants his cock soooo bad it's kinda crazy. It's the most fakest beef ever. Bad meat.
I like the new VA's they're amazing, but I do really miss the old ones. Most of them.
I think Vaggie's singing is better than Charlie's and that's fucked up because singing is like her whole thing.
Camilla killing the Angel wasn't that impactful because we don't really know who she is.
I don't really care to know how they will be trying to redeem people...idk I always thought that those parts would be boring.
So far I don't think the show was worth a 4 year wait....
Huskerdust WILL be canon at this rate. They might just be the best couple.
Charlie should have lit Valentino's ass up for treating Angel Dust the way he was. She shouldn't have listened to Angel and just fucked him up. Stop crying omfg!
I get that Husk & Angel are like in the same boat & all but....is being Alastor's minion really as bad as being constantly knocked around by Valentino?
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slayerkitty · 2 months
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The DFF Experience: A Dead Friend Forever Fandom Round Up (Part 1*)
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I had the wild idea of compiling links to all the various metas, theories, and other resources for DFF for everyone to use so that links and information were kind of all in one place. I dragged @shannankle along for the ride, and we combed through the tag to find all the things we could.
We most likely have missed something even though we tried to be as thorough as possible - if you think there is something we over looked that should be added let us know in the replies or the tags; if you write meta or other resource posts in the future, please tag us and we can add it to the post.
With that, please enjoy The DFF Experience!
Media: 
Official Trailer
Pre-Release/Pilot Trailer
Behind The Scenes
No More Dream - Barcode
Without Me - Bump
Por's RIP? Pic by @having-conniptions
Reviews: 
Dead Friend Forever is More Than Just A 90s Slasher Film Imitation by @syrena-del-mar
Dead Friend Forever is a Marvel of Mystery Writing by @lurkingshan
Phee, Jin, And A Masterful Misdirect by @lurkingshan
Fun Facts to Know and Tell: 
Non refers to his brother New as “P’New” during his argument with his parents in episode 8, confirming that New is the older of the two. 
White refers to Por as P’Por when he’s alone confirming he is younger and not lying about his age
Character Profiles by @raelle-writing
Based on screenshots, White and Phee do not go to the same school as the embroidery is different. 
Fuaiz says White’s parents are rich and engineers
What the Characters Know and Don't Know (As of Episode 9) by @raelle-writing
Actor Reveals About The Characters by @raelle-writing
Theories (Episodes 1-8):
Not Jin’s Video Theory by @raelle-writing
Not Jin’s Laptop Theory by @raelle-writing
Hints at the timeline/dates things happen by @yellingaboutkp
Why Uncle Dang Was Killed by @befuddledcinnamonroll
Is Jin final girl? by @blismytherapy
Non is dead (dead men tell no tales) by @mikuni14
Why So Many Maskys? by @slayerkitty
Tan is New by @tbhimnoteasyonmyself
Are The Boys Being Drugged (Are you High, Top?) by @italianpersonwithashippersheart
Non isn’t dead (alive men tell tales) by @respectthepetty
Theories (Episode 9-10):
Why Jin Sees Keng by @raelle-writing
Is Phee Still Playing Jin (Play On, Player?) by @yellingaboutkp
What's Up With White's Hallucinations? by @jeffsatyr with contributions by @italianpersonwithashippersheart
Tan is Going to Turn on Phee (and other upcoming episode theories) by @slayerkitty
Non Isn’t Dead (alive men tell tales, but they don’t change their clothes) by @subtextsays
Phi is on Tan's Hitlist by @respectthepetty
Non is Alive (Only Alive Men Tell Tales in Telenovelas) by @babyangelsky
Non is the Hidden Character And In This Essay I Will - by @babyangelsky
On The Episode 10 Preview by @crysta1ized
Non is Alive (Alive Men Tell Tales When They Paint in Grayscale) by @yellingaboutkp
Gas Mask for Masky? by @biochemjess
On What Tan Sees by @raelle-writing
Will Phee Tell Jin the Truth? by @mikuni14
How Much is a Hallucination and How Much is Real by @babyangelsky with contributions by @respectthepetty and @shannankle
White is the Mastermind by @sniggerwarning
Top's Scar and Masky on Crutches by @subtextsays
DFF Theory Time by @squishysquadstuff
Theories About White by @crysta1ized
Ninth Person Theory by @raelle-writing
Hallucination or Real? by @raelle-writing
Non is Alive for Now (Alive men tell tales if they're about to kick the bucket) by @harurio
A Scream/DFF Parallel Theory on Who's Behind the Mask by @crysta1ized
Tree Mark Theory by @babyangelsky
Episode 11 Preview Theory by @crysta1ized
New and the Antidote by @respectthepetty
White-Non Theory by @crysta1ized
*Due to the number links and mentions the round up is now four(!) posts. Please see Part 2 here, Part 3 here and Part 4 here.
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loveyourownsmiilee · 1 year
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Resource for Important Buck & Eddie Episodes:
Hello friends! Tis I, back with another compilation. This time I was asked by a lovely follower if there was a list of important Buddie episodes, so I decided to make one because I’m not sure if there are. I also had another follower ask me if I could highlight pro Buddie writers & directors, which I’ve also done. Blue is pro Buddie writers & red is pro Buddie directors. When I say “Pro Buddie”, I just mean that some of their directions can be seen as them angling the romantic route. Again these are all just my own opinions based off what we’ve seen come to play on the show. It just helps you distinguish who can be seen as writing these guys a little bit more than platonic, and who doesn’t. Because this is very lengthy, I have included it all under the cut. I hope you guys enjoy!!
•2.01-“Under Pressure” written by Tim Minear & Brad Falchuk // Directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton
Need I say more??? Eddie introduced through Buck’s eyes WHILE HE IS PUTTING ON A SHIRT. They have some heated words in the gym while they’re trying to get a rise out of each other. The episode ends with Eddie complimenting Buck and him blushing like a little boy with a crush. SO CUTE! The start of their partnership.
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• 2.02-“7.1” // Written by Zachary Reiter // Directed by Bradley Buecker
Eddie is hesitant to tell Buck he has a son for some reason (totally not because he’s worried about what this new crush may think) and to his surprise, Buck is completely delighted. He spends the whole episode comforting Eddie about the safety of his son. Buck literally imprinted on the Diaz boys in this episode.
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• 2.03-“Help Is Not Coming” // Written by Zachary Reiter & Tim Minear // Directed by Bradley Buecker
Buck and Eddie working seamlessly during the quake. The most important part of this episode is Buck taking Eddie to pick up his son. It’s so wholesome and the whole moment in which he’s watching Eddie and Christopher reunite is heartwarming. Literally the beginning of the Buckley-Diaz family trio we all know and love.
• 2.04-“Stuck” // Written by John J Gray // Directed by Sarah Boyd
Eddie is struggling with child care because his Abuela ends up in the hospital after watching Chris. What does Buck do?!?! He tells Bobby ahead of time that they’ll be bringing Chris to the fire station. That little cute moment of Chris sliding down the pole with Buck and Eddie helping is so precious. Then he introduces Eddie to Carla because he wanted to help him. Like are you kidding me?!?!! I love this episode so much, especially when you consider how flirty they were throughout it.
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• 2.10-“Merry Ex-Mas” // Written by Christopher Monfette // Directed by Brad Buecker
So much goodness in this episode! We get a glimpse of jealous Buck when he finds out Shannon is back and *gasp* is sleeping with her estranged husband. We have that cute Buckley-Diaz family moment with the Christmas elf mistaking them as a family and Buck being all adorable and not correcting her. We get Eddie offering up his marital problems as if he has to explain himself to Buck lol. Sooo much goodness in this episode.
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• 2.13-“Fight or Flight” // Written by Kristen Reidel // Directed by Millicent Shelton
I’m only including this for the sole purpose of when Buck was in hospital jail and distraught because his sister was missing, they had Eddie be the one to come in and talk to him. This was like the first real time we saw Eddie be Buck’s person for any and all times he’s needed someone to lean on. I love their moment together in the hospital.
• 2.18-"This Life We Choose" // Written by Tim Minear // Directed by Brad Buecker
Not a hugely important Buddie episode but like Eddie just lost his wife and then has to witness his partner stuck under a whole firetruck. He looked like he wanted to cry so bad. And the fact that a trained medic who could have helped them lift the truck off Buck, sat there and held Buck's hand, providing him comfort was just everything. Don't even talk about how when Bobby comes back and they're all talking about how everything is back to normal, Eddie looks sad when he says, "Almost." THEN THE FIRST EVER BUDDIE HUG!! Buck was in so much pain, still recovering but he could NOT miss Eddie's little ceremony and it was just so freakin sweet I cannot.
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• 3.01-"Kids Today" // Written by Kristen Reidel // Directed by Jennifer Lynch
THE INTIMATE BUDDIE HUG!!! Chris making Buck a card while Eddie watches fondly. Then Eddie takes Christopher to Buck’s house to help him get out of his depressive funk. Peak wholesome Buck and Chris scenes that eventually lead to one of the best story arcs of the show!!
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• 3.02-"Sink of Swim" // Written by Juan Carlos Coto (JCC) // Directed by Brad Buecker
Buck and Christopher in the aftermath of the tsunami. Eddie thinking they’re ok the entire time. Buck acting like a whole ass parent and jumping into the water to search for Chris. Ahhh I love this episode!!
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• 3.03-"The Searchers" // Written by David Fury // Directed by Chad Lowe
Buck searching for Christopher the entire episode. Him crying while trying to tell Eddie he lost Chris. Eddie’s lone tear at the thought of his son being gone. The Christopher and Eddie reunion while Buck crashes. THE ENDING WHERE THEY COME HOME TO BUCK!! “Buck, there’s nobody in this world I trust with my son more, than you.” 🥺
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• 3.05-"Rage" // Written by Lyndsey Beaulieu // Directed by Jann Turner
All I’m saying is divorce at the grocery store. “No but he filed a stupid lawsuit and now I can’t even talk to you because of it. You know how much Christopher misses you?! How could you, you’re not around.” LITERALLY HOW IS THIS REAL?!?
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• 3.06-"Monsters" // Written by Christopher Monfette // Directed by Tina Mabry
The make up after the divorce. I loved this so much. Their little hug in the end where Buck just wanted to hold onto him a little longer but Eddie was in so much pain.
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• 3.09-"Fallout" // Written by JCC // Directed by Marcus Stokes
THE KITCHEN SCENE™️
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• 3.10-"Christmas Spirit" // Written by Andrew Meyers // Directed by Alonso Alvarez-Barreda
So many Buckley-Diaz family feels with this one. Buck making gingerbread houses with the boys while Eddie looks in like a lovesick fool. Buck helping his boys be together for Christmas!! Then, them opening presents with their son 🥹
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• 3.11-"Seize The Day" // Written by Lyndsey Beaulieu // Directed by Sarah Boyd
“This is Eddie’s house. I’m not really a guest.” NO he’s not because he lives there, duh. I mean who even?!? They’re so married it’s not even funny.
• 3.12-"Fools" // Written by Andrew Meyers // Directed by David Grossman
Buck helping Eddie think of new ways in which Christopher can enjoy the things he wants to. The little family skateboarding scene in the end 🥹
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• 3.15-"Eddie Begins" // Written by Robert M. Williams, Jr. & Christopher Monfette // Directed by Robert M. Williams, Jr.
This episode is literal gold. Just everything about it is so wonderfully done. What platonic best friend wouldn’t dig through 30 feet of wet earth while screaming at the top of their lungs for their best friend who’s been buried?!?! Totally platonic behavior right there 👀
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• 3.18-"What's Next?" // Written by JCC & Kristen Reidel // Directed by Jennifer Lynch
Buck being a concerned parent over sending Christopher to camp!! I love the little glimpses we get of them coparenting. Jealous Eddie my absolute beloved. No seriously, just an hour of Eddie being so petty and jealous while worrying over his dumb partner. Then, the party after where they take cute pictures and enjoy themselves!!
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• 4.03-"Future Tense" // Written by Andrew Meyers // Directed by Marita Grabiak
The entire Buckley-Diaz family scene at the Diaz residence?!? Buck and Eddie acting like coparents while Chris is his adorable self. One of the first episodes in which you really see their coparenting dynamic and it’s wonderful.
• 4.04-"9-1-1, What's Your Grievance?" // Written by Nadia Abass-Madden // Directed by Brenna Malloy
Eddie being the one there for Buck when he’s dealing with the aftermath of the horrible family dinner with his parents. The entire scene where Eddie is comforting him at the station gym and looking at Buck with such fondness will never not be old.
• 4.05-"Buck Begins" // Written by JCC // Directed by Jann Turner
Literally love Eddie in this episode. I know people say he was barely in it, but he was in it in such a profound way. Him reassuring Buck he’s not defective and that it’s not his fault he couldn’t save his brother. Being the first one to grab the line and help Buck save the guy. The whole “No, I know you did”. AHHH SUCH A FOND FOOL IN LOVE!!
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• 4.08-"Breaking Point" // Written by Bob Goodman // Directed by David Grossman
Once again, coparenting at its finest. Christopher calling an actual Uber to run away from his dad, to his other dad!!!! Screamingggg!!! And Eddie immediately asking Buck for help when he can’t find him 🥺
• 4.12-"Treasure Hunt" // Written by Bob Goodman // Directed by David Grossman
Some good, peak jealous Eddie in this one. I love how he used his pretty face into convincing Buck to let him team up with him and the reporter. He was also jealous and we love when Eddie’s jealous.
• 4.13-"Suspicion" // Written by Lyndsey Beaulieu & Andrew Meyers // Directed by Brenna Malloy
This will forever be one of my all time favorite, and most iconic Buddie episodes. The shooting scene™️ I can go on and on about the brilliance of this scene. I mean choices were made and I love every single one of them.
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• 4.14-"Survivors" // Written by Kristen Reidel // Directed by Robert M. Williams, Jr.
Buck telling Chris about his father!! Buck breaking down in front of Chris!!! Buck staying and watching after Chris!!! Eddie waking up and asking for Buck!!!! THE WILL REVEAL!!! “Because, Evan”!!!! SO MUCH GOODNESS!!!
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• 5.01-"Panic" // Written by Tim Minear & JCC // Directed by Brad Buecker
I’m including this because it’s very important to Buddie’s progression. We have them heavily staring at each other like they wanna jump each others bones in the station. Then Eddie has an actual panic attack because of the idea of a ready made family with his girlfriend. Then Buck being a concerned partner and inquiring why Eddie was in the hospital!!! So much goodness.
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• 5.02-"Desperate Times" // Written by Lyndsey Beaulieu & Andrew Meyers // Directed by Brad Buecker
Buck basically telling Eddie to break up with his girlfriend by using himself as a metaphor. Mhmmm sure. And then the whole Buck and Chris hug is so precious to me!! I just love it so much.
• 5.03-"Desperate Measure" // Written by Kristen Reidel // Directed by Ben Hernandez Bray
Eddie literally telling Buck he’s gonna go break up with Ana will never not be iconic. And then him telling Ana to go home just makes it more iconic.
• 5.04-"Home and Away" // Written by Bob Goodman // Directed by Brenna Malloy
Eddie being the one who was there for Buck, again, when he needed someone, is everything especially considering Buck had a whole ass girlfriend at this time. Eddie confirming that he knows Buck by telling him he’s the guy who likes to fix things is such married behavior. And the whole “Ice goes on the eye bud” AHHH so much affection in those words.
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• 5.06-"Brawl in Cell Block 9-1-1" // Written by Andrew Meyers // Directed by Paula Hunziker
Buck and Eddie literally taken hostage together!!!! The captor immediately going after their Achilles heel and threatening their son. Buck becoming a protective papa bear and getting hit with the back of the gun!! Pretty boy and the kid!!! Buck screaming and running after Eddie because he thought he got shot again!! Brilliance. Andrew always has our back!!
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• 5.10-"Wrapped in Red" // Written by Lyndsey Beaulieu & Nadia Abass-Madden // Directed by Brenna Malloy
Eddie struggling with Christopher’s behavior and once again confiding in Buck. Because Buck is his person and he tells him everything, especially when it comes to Chris. Then the ending where Eddie tells them he’s leaving and Buck looks heartbroken!!! Oh the angst.
• 5.11-"Outside Looking In" // Written by Bob Goodman // Directed by Shauna Duggins
The Buckley Diaz family dinner in which Eddie may or may not have positioned his husband’s girlfriend’s food lol. He was so petty I can’t. The kitchen conversation between the two of them where Buck tells Eddie he doesn’t have to pretend with him. Don’t even get me started about the ending scene where Eddie comes, sees Buck and immediately smiles because he’s happy. But then leaves because he doesn’t want to damper Buck’s happiness.
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• 5.13-"Fear-o-Phobia" // Written by Andrew Meyers & JCC // Directed by Marcus Stokes
Literally BUCK BROKE DOWN THE DOOR TO GET TO EDDIE!! Because Christopher called him instead of 911 and Buck immediately dropped what he was doing and ran to his boys. I will never get over Eddie allowing Buck to see him at his most vulnerable because that really is a sign of pure unconditional love and trust.
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• 5.14-"Dumb Luck" // Written by Taylor Wong // Directed by John J Gray
Buck being Christopher’s and Eddie’s backbone through Eddie’s recovery with his ptsd!!! Coloring with Christopher while Eddie’s at therapy is such a dad thing. The whole “I misunderstood the assignment” thing with his drawn heart. Ahhhh chewing glass. Then the equine therapy family outing. Like they’re a whole ass family.
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• 5.16-"May Day" // Written & Directed by JCC
Just Buck and Eddie being partners again as if no time has passed. Eddie seamlessly working beside Buck like he’s meant to be there. Them helping save Bobby is just everything and more. And the scene where Buck chose to stand by Eddie’s side while his girlfriend and the woman he cheated on her with have a talk. Not suspicious or weird at all.
• 5.18-"Starting Over" // Written & Directed by Kristen Reidel
Buck helping Eddie fix up the holes in his walls because he’s the guy who likes to fix things. Eddie helping him out in return with his relationship troubles because at the end of the day, those two always have each others back.
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• 6.01-"Let The Games Begin" // Written by Andrew Meyers // Directed by Jann Turner
THE BUCKLEY DIAZ FAMILY DINNER SCENE!!! THE COUCH THEORY!!! SO MUCH FORESHADOWING!! I love this episode so much!!
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• 6.10-"In A Flash" // Written by JCC // Directed by Brad Buecker
No thoughts, just Buck getting struck by lightning and Eddie screaming his name 5 times, while running up the ladder to get to him. Let’s also remember that Eddie had also been thrown off the ladder but didn’t hesitate to go after his partner and then tried to PULL HIM UP TO HIM 🥺 Also Eddie calling Buck a cowboy before the lightning hit is so funny because the man was flirting!!!
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• 6.11-"In Another Life" // Written by Lyndsey Beaulieu // Directed by Joaquín Sedillo & Jann Turner
Eddie being the one to eventually get Buck’s heart to start again is some soulmate type shit. The iconic “DO MORE” while the doctors are wheeling Buck into the operating room. Let’s not forget Eddie grieving like an actual widow with his all black attire, grown facial hair and the tears. Then smuggling Christopher in to see his other parent and not being able to look at Buck is heartbreaking. His immediate happiness and awkward flirting once Buck is back is typical Eddie being a gay disaster but we love him.
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• 6.12-"Recovery" // Written by Andrew Meyers // Directed by John J Gray
Buck going to his safe place which happens to be Eddie’s house to escape all his guests!!! Falling asleep immediately once he gets settled in on Eddie’s COUCH!!! Then the talk about the shooting and Buck being so honest with only Eddie. I mean come onnn.
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• 6.13-"Mixed Feelings" // Written by Stacey Rose // Directed by Jihane Mrad Balaa
The Buckley Diaz family scene where they’re helping Chris with his homework is soooo sweet. And the fucking sexy poker date game, whatever you wanna call it. They looked so hot and what for huh?!? Eddie looked like he wanted to jump Buck’s bones the entire night. And then finally the ending scene with Buck and Chris being a literal father and son while they baked cookies!! I mean it’s all there in front of us.
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These are the episodes we have aired so far. But I will include the remaining episodes of season 6 with the writers and directors and let you all decide for yourself whether or not those episodes will be good for us in terms of Buddie!
• 6.15-“Death and Taxes” // Written by Taylor Wong // Directed by Greg Sirota
• 6.16-“Lost and Found” // Written by Lyndsey Beaulieu // Directed by Brenna Malloy
• 6.17-“Love Is In The Air” // Written & Directed by JCC
• 6.18-“Pay It Forward” // Written by Andrew Meyers & Nicole Barraza Keim // Directed by Brad Buecker
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estro-gem · 6 months
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Jax x Ragatha: The snake and the water spring
The Amazing Digital Circus AU: Oasis.
Author's note: I found this show by chance and I took a great liking to it! So now I did a thing, instead of studying for upcoming exams, because I love making things difficult for myself, apparently.
I have no idea what the fandom is like, but I'm playing it safe just to be... well... safe. I just loved the concept of this show so much that I couldn't help but be inspired by it! It got me thinking and I let it all out in this... thing.
I want to write more one-shot fics about the other characters and how they fit into this au too, but I don't know when I'll be able to.
WARNING! None of these characters are mine and everything mentioned and described is purely made-up fiction; inspired by works that are not my own. Nothing should be considered canon or taken seriously - we are all here to have some harmless fun! No age restrictions. I think this might be appropriate for all ages...?
Please show some love and support for Gooseworx; the creator of The Amazing Digital Circus!
I definitely butchered Gooseworx's characters by adding unnecessary 'relationship dynamics' and deviating from their original personalities. I promise that the actual show and characters are so much better than they are in my false portrayal of them.
SUMMARY:
A fanmade take on the events following Pomni's arrival and after the crew had dinner together. This is focused on Jax's point of view, but still written in the third person.
Jax confronts Ragatha after the pilot episode's 'dinner' and does his best to comfort her in a way that works for them. That's it.
Please enjoy!
THE SNAKE AND THE WATER SPRING
Jax was a desert snake.
Nothing but a cold-blooded pest that lived to find his next meal.
When one is left to die under the scorching sun, you can’t stomp on the sun for creating a desert, but you could stomp on the desert snake if it added to the pain of surviving in said desert. The Digital Realm was nothing but a desert sun – a cage with no exit and an evil with no target.
It was no secret why so many had lost their minds here.
Jax took on the role of being the snake. It was never announced or planned, but it was deemed necessary by all who came to know the realm. The inhabitants of The Amazing Digital Circus craved any sense of control; something they could hold accountable for their torment – something they could punish. A menace, parasite.
Evil with a target: Jax.
It was fun to act out while everybody went about their lives. He could unapologetically be the worst being known to man and thrive on the rage and hatred of all he had affected. If they hated him, he was fulfilling his role perfectly… and that meant they could stay sane and do their parts as he did his. Less people would be lost to insanity… and the group would grow stronger.
Everyone had a role in their system – an oasis was established, with Ragatha as the heart of the oasis; their very own water spring.
But when a new invading creature bursts into the oasis with no knowledge of this system, their system would be doomed. Pomni happened to be that invader. Everyone could collectively, yet silently agree that she was acting by her own careless devices since she arrived a few hours ago. She greedily soaked up their water source and left it barren, dry, and suffering.
Granted, Pomni didn’t know how their oasis worked, but it didn’t change the fact that she disrupted everything by showing up. She would have to catch on quickly and prove herself useful, before anyone else loses their minds.
They lost one of their own already… and they almost lost their beloved Ragatha; Jax’s equal and opposite.
Their precious water source.
Snakes offered venom, while water springs offered hope of life. They all desperately needed Ragatha to survive. While most would assume her to be fine after being fixed by Caine, Jax knew better than that. He saw her reluctantly stand aside Pomni to support her – beautifully acting within her role as she always would, but it was clear that Pomni still didn’t understand how scarce the water was by then. Rags was spread thin enough by handling the extra stress and enduring the continuous pain of being corrupted by the abstraction, but that didn’t stop Pomni from practically having a mental breakdown at the dinner table.
Jax saw that coming from a mile away. Thank goodness he silently took the open seat next to Pomni, silent in his insistence that the ragdoll should keep her distance for the time being. He’d give anything to destroy the little jester for abusing his doll. Ragatha was acting perfectly normal at the time – her masked smile perfectly set on her face – until it was time for them all to retire to their respective bedrooms.
Jax wished that he would’ve just dragged her after him when he booked it from the abstraction earlier today. Pomni would have been the perfect distraction for them to escape and get Caine.
He stood at Ragatha’s door after dinner.
Jax made a point to ring the doorbell this time. Usually, he’d just pluck out a key and saunter in like he owns the place, but with what happened today, he’d make an exception. Everyone has their limit – and someone has already reached their limit today. They couldn’t risk losing another one. Especially not Raggs. They all really needed her.
When she didn’t open, he tried the bell again. Nothing.
Well, time for the key, then.
He shoved his hand down his front pocket and fished out the doll’s room key. The bunny didn’t waste time opening the door. He wanted to see what state the girl was in, despite dreading the possibility of finding an abstracted amalgamation on the other side.
Silence.
Not even a creak was heard from the hallway. The room was lit up as it usually was, so that was a good sign, at least. Jax couldn’t see an obvious black body of eyes – another win. But where was Ragatha? He did see her walk into her room, so she had to be here.
He walked around, keeping his cool, casual composure fixed, despite no one being around. It was effortless at this point. It became a way for him to focus on what he could control in this crazy digital prison; himself.
He couldn’t, however, control his ability to spot a blasted ragdoll, it would seem. He scanned the room again, until his eyes fell on her ¾ bed. Could she-?
The bunny rolled his eyes at himself as he lowered himself onto his knees – maybe he could convince himself that he was not phased by the situation. Bending down, he peered beneath the bed frame.
Jax sighed in exasperation. Or was it relief? Both?
Ragatha was in the state she was in before retiring to her room. No gliching, no extra eyes.
Just Raggs.
She didn’t look good, though. The doll was curled up beneath her bed and blindly staring ahead of her. It didn’t look like she was breathing – not that they needed to anyway, but it was uncanny to see Rags like this. She was their voice of reason. She was a water spring in this desert.
If she dried up, their desert would be doomed.
Jax silently stood up and walked back to the open door again. No need to make a fuss over this. He took hold of the door handle and shut it from the inside. Key in hand, he locked the door and nodded to himself. Ragatha needed a raincloud… and he’d have to fill that role now. It’s the least he could do after leaving her to fend for herself when they found the abstraction today.
Why didn’t she run with him? Why did think she could fix someone whose mind was broken beyond repair? Why didn’t she just leave the rookie as bait?
Because that just wasn’t her role, was it?
If it weren’t for her nature – her role – none of them would have made it this far. It dawned on Jax, once again, how close they were to losing their beloved doll. How close they were to being stuck with an invader who knew nothing about what it took to survive in this hell hole.
Enough.
Back to the bed, crouched down and silent Jax positioned himself to lay down and simply look over the red head from a relative distance. There was enough space for the doll to crawl out of hiding without having to touch him. The bunny still hadn’t said a word. It’d be stupid to talk, and he didn’t feel like making the effort. He just wanted things back to normal again – well… as normal as it could have been.
Now Kaufmo is gone, a new creature was invading their home, tearing it up from the roots and tipping the delicate scales of the balance they worked very hard on creating. All because of a lunatic ringmaster having the bright idea of creating a fake exit-door. Someone better get that jester on a tight leash to get her to fall in line, like the rest of them were forced to.
He knew he, for one, wouldn’t mind roughing her up a bit. It was his specialty – his role. The parasite. The menace. The instigator.
Evil with an actual target.
The sound of shifting and movement had Jax blink out of his own head. Ragatha was slowly and dumbly making her way out from under her bed. Her eyes were still fogged over and her face still eerily blank, but at least she came out of hiding out of her own will. In a matter of seconds, the doll was out from her hiding place and settled on the floor beside Jax. She was staring him in the eyes now, waiting for the bunny, silently pleading.
Jax hadn’t had his aloof-douchebag persona engaged since he locked Ragatha’s door. She didn’t need a menace now – she needed to be grounded; revitalized. She needed a dark raincloud to fill up the water spring they all needed.
He didn’t look forward to what needed to be done, but he wouldn’t allow anyone else to do it.
He moved to stand up and held out a hand to help her up. He took note of the way her hand was shaking when she took his and gently guided her to the bed. The red head was the first to sit, then moved to lay down on her back and numbly stare at the ceiling. With a deep breath, Jax gathered himself mentally and cautiously crept onto the bed and positioned himself to briefly hover over her, before lowering his full weight onto Ragatha.
He had his head in the crook of her neck, on the left shoulder with his ears folding back to floppily droop to his upper back… with his left hand resting on the opposite shoulder. His body, although slim, enveloped hers and caused her to sink slightly into the mattress. His legs just loosely laid over and aside the ragdoll’s. It was more important to have his weight resting on her torso anyway.
For a long moment, they just motionlessly laid on the bed like this. To an outsider, it would look like they fell asleep atop each other or simply cuddled together very closely.
An outsider wouldn’t see that Jax was focused on the slow process of Ragatha’s body relaxing under his weight and her breathing slowing to a regular rhythm. An outsider wouldn’t have known that this was hardly the first time they’d done this – how long it took Jax to learn that this make-shift deep-pressure therapy was the most effective grounding technique for Ragatha to collect herself again.
They wouldn’t understand that Jax didn’t do this out of wanting to, but rather out of necessity.
Jax didn’t like to be touched. If anything, he was very capable of merely tolerating it. Everyone in the circus knew that he was touch-averse; some even used that as leverage to mess with him if the situation called for it. It was a necessity that he endured to keep his doll sane – to keep anyone of importance here in the circus, sane. Their whole lives revolved around mental strength. It was all just a matter of staying sane.
The laid there for what felt like a lifetime.
Slight shifting beside Jax alerted him that the doll was moving her arms – previously stiffly pinned to her sides. This was good, she felt comfortable enough to move around now!
Her left hand gently snaked up to the bunny’s head and slowly, softly petted his ears in a longitude motion. Her right hand wrapped loosely around his middle-to-lower back – motionless. This was bad, Jax did not like being touched like that!
While he was fine with the rhythmic touches of Ragatha’s left hand, he despised the idle position of the right hand resting on his back. He couldn’t prevent himself from tensing up in discomfort.
Bad touch, bad touch, bad-
This caused the ragdoll to tense up and rip her hands off him as if he burned her.
Oh no you don’t! We are not starting all over again.
He slowly pulls away and propped up unto his elbows, hearing Ragatha’s breathing pick up as she presumably spirals into her own thoughts on how he was going to leave her like this. Jax cast down a disapproving look. He broke his gaze to unceremoniously take her right hand – now clutched close to her chest – and intertwined their fingers, before resting his head on her left shoulder once again. He close eyes as he use his free hand to put her left hand on his head again, waiting for her to resume her petting.
Good touch; this was a good touch. Please understand.
Thankfully, Ragatha relaxed… and continued her previous slow, rhythmic motions. Slowly, Jax felt her relax once again and he indulged into her need for touch by stroking his thumb over hers occasionally.
Soon they fell into a rhythm; Ragatha would pet Jax’s ears 3 times, then it was his turn to stroke his thumb over hers. Then they would repeat the routine. This also helped Jax cope with the touching; the routine. The rhythm.
It felt like hours ticked by as the two just practiced their little unspoken routine. Jax grew used to it after a while, almost forgetting that his new mattress was now a sentient ragdoll and completely tuned into their rhythm of touches.
Pet… pet… pet… thumb. Pet… pet… pet… thumb.
Jax didn’t like touch, but he loved routine.
The doll and the bunny’s time together, once nothing but grounding techniques, grew to become an intimate exchange of touches and caresses – all wrapped in a routine, like a dance. Jax felt warm and fuzzy inside; for once he basked in the moment of enjoying his dolly. He lazily wondered if Ragatha felt the same. He shifted his head to look at her.
The doll looked down to meet his eyes when she felt him move. He could swear that she looked at peace, basking in the bliss of their closeness. For some reason, she looked like an angel. They all saw her as their angel. Had he successfully pinned a heavenly body beneath him?
Her gentle, longing gaze made a kaleidoscope of butterflies erupt from his core.
This wasn’t the first time this feeling invaded his being when they did this – as rare as these moments were. He wasn’t sure when he started experiencing such feelings during these rare encounters, but as months crawled by, he felt drawn to his dolly more and more. Based on how she looked at him, he could only assume that she felt it too.
Something so foreign, yet so familiar.
He didn’t fail to spot the warmth rushing to her cheeks when their eyes met. She looked so ethereal beneath him, especially when her breathing picked up under his firm gaze. Her lips were parted, and her eyes were lidded. This time, it wasn’t fear or overstimulation. It was anticipation. It was desire.
Jax internally flinched at the tingly sensation when he smoothly burrowed his face into Ragatha’s neck. She shivered at the breath he let out against her skin. He could tolerate the touching a little longer, as long as he could see her crumble again. He wanted to see her walls crumble again.
“Jax- ”
Oh… he had to hear her again. More clearly, next time. This was torture, but she made him into her own personal masochist. His skin crawled at the sensation of her skin shivering against him, but he needed more. He could take it. Just a little longer – he just had to stand these sensations a little longer. He looked at her again.
Ragatha was reverting to a helpless puddle. The doll’s arms were gripping at the covers beneath her, successfully eliminating the bother of excessive contact that he despised. Jax didn’t know if she did it with that intension or without thinking, but either way, he was thankful. He really wanted more.
Why couldn’t he just be normal?
He lifted onto his elbows again and – dare one say – lovingly looked at her face. She could only peek back at him, breathing slightly faster than usual. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her shaky hand rise from the covers and hover next to his cheek, while her eyes pleaded for his mercy. He hesitated but bit the bullet to comply; leaning into her touch while desperately trying to ignore the odd tingles. Jax convinced himself to kiss her wrist and drowned himself in the pleasure of hearing her softly call his name.
He only heard it because he was listening so closely for it.
Yes.
DING DONG
In a flash, Jax braced himself up into a crouch and slammed his foot down with a mighty THUMP upon hearing Ragatha startle into a fit when the doorbell chimed. His hair on his back stood on end and his claws ripped through his gloves, leaving gouges in the covers beside the doll’s head.
His precious doll was disturbed again!
He heard her soft cry of fear and his blood boiled with a thirst for vengeance. Only he can make her cry out. He’ll skin the soul that dared to-
“Ragatha…? Can we talk?”
That DAMN jester!
“Jax?” a quiet voice trembled in his ear from beneath him. Jax stopped glaring at the door to softly glance down and see what his little doll wanted.
“Don’t…” Raggs sounded like she was begging while being held at gunpoint, whispering despite their rooms being enchanted to not hear anything from the outside when the door is shut.
Jax wouldn’t dare let that thing inside. Raggs was upset enough as it is.
“Look, I know it probably wouldn’t make a difference…” Pomni’s voice came from the other side door again, “…but I’m so sorry for running off… Again… I saw that exit and I had to see if it was real. No one else believed me and I started to think that I was losing my mind. You understand that, right?”
Jax placed both his hands down on the mattress, blocking the doll’s view of the door as if it could block the sound of the voice from reaching the Raggs’s ears, still hovering over her. He knew that his dolly didn’t want to hear anything the harlequin had to say now – he had half the mind to get up and bash the newbie’s head in.
“I hope we can talk about this some time. You are probably tired after such a long, crazy day.” Pomni’s voice died down near the end, “It feels like you’re the only good person here.”
She really is, but she’s too good for you. Selfish leech.
Jax looks down to the girl, still stiff as a board beneath him. Her eye was shiny with the swell of tears. He melted at the sight – anger simmering down. She was just a sweet little rag dolly, she didn’t deserve any of this, but oh, he was so happy to see Ragatha finally emote something again. She was OK again. Their water source was filled once again, now threatening to spill over. He’d happily welcome the flood.
He needed her.
The sound of fading footsteps causes Jax to rip his eyes to the direction of the door. His hearing was better than the dolls, probably thanks to being a rabbit.
Good riddance.
Ragatha seemed to relax at the sight of Jax deflating his stance, reading that Pomni probably left her door. She hesitantly reached up to cup Jax’s cheek. Jax followed her hand’s motion and scoffed, cringing at the invasion. He’s had enough touching for a week. It sucked to leave his doll so soon after being distressed again, but he couldn’t bring himself stand any more of this. He quickly got up and smoothed out his clothes, but not without missing the flash of hurt in the doll’s eyes. He felt bad, but he had to be strong with the new girl around, so straining himself now would only make matters worse and mess up the whole system.
Still, seemingly bored, Jax stood in his spot while rocking on his heels and looking off to the side, only sparing her a glance. Raggs sat up by then. She looked a little worse for wear, but it’s an improvement from hiding under her bed. She rested her elbows on her knees with her chin in her hands. The hurt in her eyes was long gone, but she looked tired. Poor thing, Jax shared the sentiment.
He felt her eye bore into the side of his face and the bunny couldn’t stop himself before he rolled his eyes and looked to her again. He could’ve choked on air when he saw her face, but the years of steeling his demeanor left no trace of his inner turmoil.
Raggs sported that longing look in her eyes again.
They were so close this time – closer than they’ve ever been before. Each time they spent together on nights like this, although few and far between, they grew closer… and hungrier. Neither understood what it was, but they never had the chance to just collapse into it, tonight being the closest to that.
But there was always something, right?
Jax allowed gaze to soften. His doll offered a small smile that almost ripped his heart out if his chest. It was drenched with melancholy of something she knew they could never have.
Because their roles in their little ecosystem didn’t allow for it to ever be theirs. It would never work.
This was survival.
The rabbit steeled his demeanor once again, but this time, his doll’s face didn’t fall.
Good, as it should be.
Jax walked to the door and fished out the key from his front pocket. He didn’t bother looking back. If he did, he wouldn’t have the will to leave anymore. When he opened the door, though, he couldn’t help but mumble out teasingly.
“See yah later, Doll~!”
He wished that he could shout his affections for her out into the void instead.
“I’m not your doll.” Ragatha responded, voice still wobbly and tired, but perky regardless. She knew just how to indulge him.
Yes, she is… she always will be.
Fanart: Evil with a target
Oasis: TADC AU list
Masterlist
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to-be-a-dreamer · 8 months
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I talked about this in the tags of a reblog but I need to expand on this because my brain is vibrating and it's all Hank Freaking Green's fault. This will not be coherent at all just roll with it.
I don't know if it was on purpose or not but the scene where The Fix and Pasha were flirting by exchanging fun facts did so so much for the Fix's character in my mind because like. Pasha is the only character we've seen who had a positive response to the Fix's fun facts right off the bat. (Presumably the orphans at the Home for Wayward Interests had positive responses but I'm specifically talking about on-screen reactions.)
The targets that the Fix talks to are so terrified by his facts that they just disintegrate on the spot. The DA is mildly annoyed at best by them. Even the other Prefrontal PIs are freaked out or confused by them at first. It takes a couple episodes for them to come around to his fun facts, especially after "half the bones in your body" one. It takes them some time to realize that that's just how The Fix communicates his thoughts and ideas. He uses his fun facts as a way to connect and bond with friends just as much as he uses them to intimidate his targets.
But Pasha is the first person we see and, presumably, one of the only people in The Fix's life to hear one of his facts and not only immediately accept and understand it to be a method of conversation, but to also respond with a fact of their own and have an entire conversation with The Fix in the way he feels most comfortable.
We've seen so many times that The Fix goes out of his way to try and appear less threatening or even avoid people altogether because he knows most people are scared of him because of his appearance. It takes him so long to convince the other Prefontal PIs that he's really not going to hurt Conrad (compare how quickly Dan is a part of the group and how his motives are never questioned despite how vocal he is about hating Conrad and being all too eager to turn him over to the police and/or have him murdered to how long it takes The Fix) and he doesn't even seem hurt by the idea that all these people think he would murder a child when he's clearly a very kind and loving person, especially to children.
He's just. Come to terms with the fact that everyone's first impression of him will be this big intimidating presence who enjoys hurting people. But he's not. He's just passionate about his job, like everyone else in the city. It just happens to be that his job is to keep Elias focused, which means letting go of the butterfly tails. When he's tasked with eliminating someone who doesn't seem like they need to be eliminated, he immediately stops and questions the case. As far as I can tell, he doesn't like to kill people, he doesn't do it for fun. He does it because that's his job, literally the only thing he was made to do. But he's come to accept that most people will always be afraid of him because of that job.
And then he meets Pasha, who immediately accepts his form of communication without question or confusion. Who isn't afraid or intimidated by him. Who isn't just entertaining his fun facts but is actively engaging and returning with her own. She is the first person (who isn't a child, who is the Fix's peer) that The Fix could talk to without having to explain himself. The first person who wasn't afraid or confused or annoyed by the way he expresses himself.
Like. I dunno I imagine it would almost be like moving to a foreign country as a child and not being able to speak in your native language because every time you do people are suspicious of you or annoyed that you aren't speaking the local language or just plain don't understand you, even if they're trying to be kind about it. And it's harder to explain yourself and express your thoughts in this new language but you learn and you adapt because it's the only way to survive. Then you meet someone who speaks your language. Someone who allows you to speak freely and for the first time you can actually express yourself fully and easily. And they're speaking back to you in the language you think in and for once you don't have to translate everything before you say it out loud and after you hear it. I think that would feel so freeing.
So yeah, I'm guessing that scene was supposed to be a silly goofy one-off gag that's just funny and cute but it genuinely means so much to me. Truly I don't get people who say The Fix isn't as deep or interesting as the other characters he is FACINATING to me and this isn't even touching on his relationship with Conrad or what he might be feeling after learning Ichabod was Pasha's brother. (If it gets revealed that Ichabod was one of The Fix's first hits I will lose it.)
Thank you for coming to my late-night nonsense ramblings I hope I was mildly entertaining
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alotofpockets · 11 months
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Happy when you're around | Florence Pugh
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Paring: Florence Pugh x Reader
Summary: You're helping your girlfriend film her newest Cooking with Flo video, and help her with a Q&A on Instagram live.
Masterlist | Marvel masterlist | Words: 707
Florence was dancing around the kitchen, between the chopping of vegetables and stirring in pots. She was in the process of filming a Cooking with Flo episode. You were behind the camera making sure to get all the right angles to give her fans the best experience.
You loved how at ease Florence was in front of the camera, she had to be with her job of course but this was different. She connected with her fans, talked to them, even when her episodes weren't live and she couldn't see their responses or have a two way conversation with them. She never failed to find a new topic to talk about. 
As a bonus Florence posted an extra story on her Instagram for her followers to send in questions, after she posted all the parts to the Cooking with Flo. She was nervous because she had never done this before, but she was excited when she saw all the questions come pouring in.
Florence wanted to answer the questions on an Instagram live. So, you suggested putting up a tripod to film her and to read the questions aloud from your phone, that way it was more like an interview. Flo thought it was a good idea, it eased her nerves a bit.
"Hi, everyone! I hope you enjoyed that little Cooking with Flo." She started. She knew how much they love the series, as they're always requesting more. "Thank you so much for all the questions you've sent in. My lovely girlfriend, behind the camera, will read as many of them out for me before we have to leave. I hope to answer as many as I can!" 
You looked at Florence to give you the sign to ask the first question. Once she did you read one out for her. "Let's start off with a food related question, what is your favorite dish to make?" - "Hm that's a good one, I love so many. Honestly, I think my favorite thing to do is to create a dish from the leftovers we have. I get to be more creative and challenge myself." 
You continue with the next question, "Are you working on any new projects at the moment?" Florence looks at you and smiles. "We just finished the press tour for A Good Person. If you haven't seen it yet, it's out in theaters now!" She plugs while making finger guns towards the camera. "But to answer your question, no not at the moment. I've had a busy couple of years work wise and while I'm very happy with that, I want some time with my girlfriend. So, I'm taking a couple of months off, and we're going to travel together. I've got some auditions planned before we go, so who knows after our trip I might have some new projects coming up."
You continue asking more questions, when you stumble upon one with your name. "Haha I like this one, I'd like to know your point of view on this. What is y/n like when she's filming your Cooking with Flo videos?" Florence moves her hands in a come here motion. "If you all don't mind, I'm gonna bring her in front of the camera for this one." 
Once you sit down next to her, she starts answering the question. "Y/n is amazingly supportive behind the camera, and in general. She's very detail oriented and knows exactly what I want to show and when I want to give you all a closer look at something. Besides that I also have the cheesy answer, which is that she's beautiful behind the camera, and she always looks at me with the most admiring smile." You blush at all her compliments. 
"That's because I'm always happy when you're around." You say while leaning into her more. She puts her arm around you. You see the screen filled with lovely messages from the audience and feel the smile on Florence's face. "We have to get going now, but I promise I'll answer more questions soon! Thank you for joining us and I hope you'll all have a wonderful day." With that you end the live and cuddle up to your girlfriend, before you have to get ready.
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